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Presented    byCAuoCi^s\\n(S  c3  .  &mvAV\n£/, 


BX  8915 

.S6  1908  v.lO       1 

Smyth,  Thomas, 

1808-1873. 

Complete 

works 

of  Rev. 

Thomas 

Smyth, 

D.  D 

Complete  Works 


OF 


Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 

Edited  by 
REV.  PROF.  J.  WM.  FLINN,  D.  D. 


New  Edition 

With  Brief  Notes  and  Prefaces 

Biographical  Sketch  in  Last  Volume. 


Volume  X. 


Columbia,  S.  C. 

Reprinted  by  The  R.  L.  Bryan  Company. 

1912. 


EDITORIAL  NOTE. 

Dr.  Smyth's  Complete  Works  comprised  in  these  volumes 
are  published  under  written  instructions  left  by  him.  The 
cost  of  publication  is  paid  by  a  fund  which  he  provided. 

The  Editor's  work  has  been  confined  mainly  to  proof  read- 
irjff  and  to  occasional  recensions  of  the  printed  text.  The 
works  are  re-issued  not  for  the  general  book-market,  but  for 
donation  to  public  libraries.  J.  Wm.  Flinn. 


After  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Prof.  J.  Wm.  Flinn,  D.  D.,  the 
work  of  editing  these  volumes  was  carried  on  by  his  daugh- 
ter, Jean  Adger  Flinn,  a  granddaughter  of  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Smyth,  D.  D. 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

I.  The  Teachings  of  the  Dead 5-     90 

II.  Life  a  Tale  That  Is  Told 93-  100 

III.  Council  and  Comfort  for  Afflicted  Believers 103-  126 

IV.  God  Comforts  to  Make  Us  Comforters 129-  138 

V.  Solace  for  Bereaved  Parents 141-  286 

Preface   143-  144 

Contents    145 

VI.  God's  Way  in  the  Wilderness 289-  304 

VII.  God  Glorified  and  Christian  Obedience  Perfected  in 

the  Prostration  and  Sufferings  of  Believers 307-  317 

VIII.  Heaven    319-  329 

IX.  Articles  on  Baptism 331-  447 

1.  A  Form  for  the  Service  of  Baptism — Baptism 

a  Testimony  to  the  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity 

in  Unity 333-  337 

2.  Infant  Baptism  Proved  from  the  Identity  of 

the  Christian  and  Jewish  Churches. ..  .338-  348 

3.  The  Law  of  Infant  Membership  in  the  Church 

of  God,  Not  Abrogated  by  the  Gospel.  .349-  362 

4.  The     Infants'     Right    to     Baptism     Pleaded 

Against  Unbelieving  Parents 363-  373 

5.  Infant  Baptism  Pleaded  from  the  Old  Testa- 

ment Prophecies  and  Promises 374-  385 

6.  The    Doctrine    of     Baptismal     Regeneration 

Examined  386-  481 

7.  The  Obligations  and  Benefits  of  Baptism. 402-  413 

8.  An    Invitation   to    Fulfil    Baptismal    Engage- 

ments     414-  423 

9.  Baptism    Not    a    Representation    of    Christ's 

Burial  and  Death ;  But  Only  an  Emblem  of 
the   Blessings   Procured  by   Christ's   Death 

and  Our  Consequent  Obligations 424-  434 

10.  The    Arguments    of    Immersion    Answered 

435-  447 


VI  CONTENTS, 

page: 

X.  The  Commercial  Benefit  of  Christianity  in  Producing 

Integrity,  Diligence  and  Moderation 449-  460 

XL  The    Design    and    Motive    of    Worldly    Business    as 

Exhibited  in  the  Bible 463-  481 

XII.  The  Relations  of  Christianity  to  Civil  Polity.  .483-  496 

XIII.  The   Christian's    Principle   and    Motive   in    Voting 

499-  509 

XIV.  On  the  Necessity  of  Literature  and  Men  of  Letters 

to  the  Stability  and  Happiness  of  a  Republic.  .  .  .511-  530 

XV.  The  Sphere,  Character  and  Destiny  of  Woman. 533-  548 

XVI.  First  and  Second  Advents  of  Christ 551-  568 

XVII    Christ's  Sufferings  a  Proof  of  Atonement 571-  586 

XVIII.  Christ  Our  Righteousness 589-  604 

XIX    Imputation   ' 607-  620 

XX.  The  Eternal  Sonship  of  Christ 623-  638 

XXI.  Theory  of  a  General  Atonement  Examined. .  .641-  650 

XXII.  The  Doctrine  of  Predestination  Beneficial  to  Many 
and  Injurious  to  None 653-  669 

XXIII.  The  Origin  of  Evil 671-  678 

XXIV.  Paul's  Resource  Under  Trial 681-  690 

XXV.  The  Prayers  and  Efforts  of  Believers  Essential  to 

the  Promised  Triumph  of  the  Church 693-  704 

XXVI.  Forbidding  to  Marry  a  Sure  Mark  of  Antichrist 

708-  720 

XXVII.  The  Resurrection  of  Christ 723-  729 

XXVIII.  The  Mutual  Obligation  of  a  Minister  and  His 
People  731-  745 

XXIX.  In  Memoriam 747-  813 

The  Christian  Warrior  Crowned — A  Discourse, 
Commemorative  of  the  Life,  Character  and 
Labors  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth.  D.  D.. 
by  the  Rev.  G.  R.  Brackett 751-  799 

Appendix    800-  813 


THE 


TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 


By 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 


Columbia,  S.  C. 

Steam  Power  Press  of  E.  H.  Britton. 

1857. 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 


Obituary  of  Mrs.   Euza  Leland,   consort  of  Rev.   A.    W 
Leland,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  Theology  in  the  Seminary 
at  Columbia,  S.  C,  and  epitaphs  from  the  burial  place. 
Charleston :  Steam  Press  of  Walker,  Evans  &  Co.,  No.  3, 
Broad  street.     1857.     Printed  but  not  published. 

Circular  letter  of  the  bereaved  consort,  in  reply  to  letters  of 
condolence,  on  occasion  of  the  death  of  Mrs.  L^and. 
Printed  but  not  published. 

In  Memoriam,  obituary  notices  of  Mrs,  Sarah  E.  Adger. 

The  clay  that  is  moistened  sends  back  no  sound.  Yes,  Death  is  silent  to 
the  ear,  but  it  ever  speaketh  to  the  heart.  HERVEY  GILES. 

The  good  and  the  true, 

Never  die — never  die  ; 
Though  gone  they  are  here 

Ever  nigh — ever  nigh. 

There  is  a  voice  from  the  tomb  sweeter  than  song ;  there  is  a  remem- 
brance of  the  dead,  to  which  we  turn  even  from  the  charms  of  the  Living. 
These  we  would  not  exchange  for  the  song  of  pleasure  or  the  bursts  of 
revelry. 

Thou  art  not  lost, — thy  spirit  giveth 

Immortal  peace,  and  high  it  liveth ! 

Thou  art  not  mute — with  angels  blending, 

Thy  voice  to  me  is  still  descending. 

Thou  art  not  absent, — sweetly  smiling, 
I  see  thee  yet,  my  griefs  beguiling, 
Soft  o'er  my  slumbers  art  thou  beaming, 
The  sunny  spirit  of  my  dreaming. 

Thine  eyelids  seem  not  yet  concealing. 
In  death,  their  orbs  of  matchless  feeling ; 
Their  living  charms  my  heart  still  numbers. 
Ah !  sure  they  do  but  veil  thy  slumbers. 

As  kind  thou  art ;  for  still  thou'rt  meeting 
The  breast  which  gives  the  tender  greeting! 
And  shall  I  deem  thee  altered  ? — Never ! 
Thou'rt  with  me  waking — dreaming — ever! 

THE  SPEAKING  DEAD. 

BY    H.   W.   LONGFELLOW. 

When  the  hours  of  day  are  numbered. 

And  the  voices  of  the  night 
Wake  the  better  soul  that  slumbered. 

To  a  holy,  calm  delight ; 

Ere  the  evening  lamps  are  lighted. 

And,   like  phantoms,   grim   and  tall, 
Shadows  from  the  fitful  firelight 

Dance  upon  the  parlor  wall ; 


8  the;  teachings  of  the  dead. 

Then  the  forms  of  the  departed 

Enter  at  the  open  door ; 
The  beloved,  the  true  hearted 

Come  to  visit  me  once  more. 

He,  the  young  and  strong,  who  cherished 

Noble  longings  for  the  strife, 
By  the  roadside  fell  and  perished. 

Weary  with  the  march  of  life ! 

They,  the  holy  ones  and  weakly, 

Who  the  cross  of  suffering  bore, 
Folded  their  pale  hands  so  meekly. 

Spake  with  us  on  earth  no  more ! 

And  with  them  the  being  beauteous, 

Who  unto  my  youth  was  given. 
More  than  all  things  else  to  love  me, 

And  is  now  a  saint  in  heaven. 

With  a  slow  and  noiseless  footstep, 

Comes  the  messenger  divine, 
Takes  the  vacant  chair  beside  me. 

Lays  her  gentle  hand  in  mine. 

And  she  sits  and  gazes  at  me. 

With  those  deep  and  tender  eyes. 
Like  the  stars  so  still  and  saint  like. 

Looking  downward  from  the  skies. 

Uttered  not,  yet  comprehended. 

Is  the  spirit's  voiceless  prayer ; 
Soft  rebukes  in  blessings  ended, 

Breathing  from  her  lips  of  air. 

O,  though  oft  depressed  and  lonely, 

All  my  fears  are  laid  aside. 
If  I  but  remember  only 

Such  as  these  have  lived  and  died. 

Christianity  is  distinguished  from  all  other  forms  of 
religion  in  all  that  is  essential  both  to  the  well  being  of  the  life 
that  now  is  and  of  that  also  which  is  to  come.  But  in  nothing, 
perhaps,  is  this  contrast  more  striking  than  the  aspect  in  which 
it  regards  sorrow,  bereavement  and  death.  These  constitute 
the  mystery  of  life,  and  the  mastery  of  all  human  wisdom  and 
philosophy ;  hovering  over  humanity  in  fearful  darkness ;  terri- 
fying us  by  the  loud  and  incessant  crashes  of  their  thunder; 
and  ever  and  anon  bursting  in  storms  of  devastating  fury. 
And  as  all  other  religions  have  stood  aghast,  mute  and  motion- 
less before  such  appalling  phenomena,  Christianity  demon- 
strates its  inspiration  and  divinity  by  at  once  resolving  the 
mystery,  and  imparting  peace  and  consolation  to  the  troubled 
spirit. 

The  earth,  as  Christianity  teaches  us,  is  now  enveloped  in  a 
murky  atmosphere  of  cloud  and  sunshine  with  its  every  vary- 
ing lights  and  shadows,  as  emblematic  of  the  blighting  curse 


THE  TEACHINGS  OE  THE  DEAD.  9 

of  sin  of  which  all  sorrow  is  the  shadow  and  all  death  the 
penalty.  The  present  dispensation  and  government  of  the 
world  is,  therefore,  Christianity  teaches  us,  temporary  and  not 
final,  partial  and  not  complete,  preparatory  and  not  perfect, 
probationary  and  not  retributive.  It  is  purely  a  disciplinary 
dispensation,  where  everything  is  made  to  work  together  so  as 
to  form,  develop  and  mature  character,  whether  evil  or  good, 
in  view  of  a  state,  and  life,  and  world,  everlasting.  The  race 
of  man  is  not  now  in  its  pristine  and  perfect  condition.  The 
earth  is  not  what  it  first  was.  The  relations  between  God  and 
man  are  not  those  of  a  father  infinitely  wise  and  benevolent 
rejoicing  over  His  children  in  whom  He  sees  everything  good. 
Men  are  now  fallen,  sinful,  guilty,  imperfect  and  helpless  crea- 
tures; and  God  is  now  revealed,  as  having  in  Christ,  devised 
a  scheme  of  infinite  mercy,  whereby  He  is  reconciling  sinners 
unto  Himself,  reinstating  them  in  holiness,  and  fitting  and 
preparing  them  for  full  and  final  happiness  in  His  heavenly 
kingdom. 

All  events  are  therefore  subordinated  to  this  gracious  pur- 
pose, and  to  be  interpreted  by  this  light.  And  is  it  not  a 
blessed  light?  Does  it  not  at  once  dissipate  all  darkness,  bring 
order  out  of  confusion,  impart  joy  to  sorrow,  hope  to  despair, 
life  in  death,  and  brighten  every  cloud  of  grief  with  a  tinge 
of  heavenly  wisdom  and  unspeakable  tenderness.  Sickness 
and  sorrow  now  become  handmaids  to  virtue ;  tutors  and  gov- 
ernors training  and  educating  immortal  minds  for  the  maturity 
of  perfect  men  in  Christ  Jesus.  Death  is  not  an  end.  It  is 
only  a  transition,  a  stage  in  our  journey,  a  step  on  the  onward 
march  to  immortality,  a  halt  in  the  pilgrimage  through  the 
desert  on  our  way  to  the  heavenly  Canaan,  a  passage  over  the 
Jordan,  or  a  transformation  out  of  this  earth-worm,  chrysalis 
condition,  to  the  seraph-winged  beauty  of  a  spiritual  and 
angelic  nature 

All  other  religions  have  considered  death  as  an  end,  a  cessa- 
tion of  existence,  an  awful  catastrophe,  the  annihilation  of  the 
body,  and  the  vanishing  of  the  soul  into  thin  air — to  roam  in 
dreary  sadness  through  the  gloomy  shades  and  by  the  turbid 
waters  of  some  unknown  region  of  the  dead. 

Moschus  sung  thus  mournfully : 


10  THE  TEACHINGS  OE  THE  DEAD. 


"Ah,  Mallows  in  the  garden  die, 
Parsley,  and  blooming  Dill, 
Yet  waken'd  by  the  vernal  sky 
Again  their  course  fulfill. 

While  we,  the  wise,  the  strong,  the  brave, 
Have  no  fresh  spring  in  store ; 

But  silent  in  the  hollow  grave 
Sleep  on  for  evermore." 


Homer  is  not  less  plaintive  : 


"Men  fade  like  leaves"  that  drop  away 
Beneath  the  parent  shade, 
Others  again  succeed,  but  they 
Are  in  oblivion  laid. 

So  spake  the  sire  of  Grecian  song ; — 

Through  each  succeeding  age 
The  words  are  caught  and  borne  along 

By  poet,  saint,  and  sage. 

"Better"  said  Achilles, 

"be  slaves  on  earth 
Of  some  poor  hind  than  king  of  all  the  dead." 

So  doth  man's  sinful  nature  deem 

With  ill-forboding  gloom. 
And  strays  as  in  a  dreadful  dream 

In  realms  beyond  the  tomb. 

For  want,  disgrace,  and  servitude 

Seem  nothing  in  that  hour. 
When  Death's  huge  pinions  o'er  us  brood, 

We  feel  his  chilling  power. 

Christianity  alone  has  brought  man's  immortality  to  light, 
revealed  and  illustrated  it,  and  endeared  it  to  us  by  bright  and 
beautiful  descriptions  of  it.  Christianity  alone,  has  demon- 
strated that  death  is  a  portion,  not  the  end  of  life;  a  change, 
not  the  destruction  of  the  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle;  a 
development,  not  a  decay  of  strength  and  beauty ;  or  to  employ 
its  own  peculiar  and  exquisitely  attractive  representation,  a 
sleep  from  which  the  weary  and  troubled  spirit  shall  awake 
refreshed  and  invigorated,  rejoicing  in  the  clear  dawning  of 
a  celestial  day. 

All  other  religions  also  consecrated  pride,  passion,  stoical 
indifference,  insensibility  to  grief  and  pain,  and  forgetfulness 
of  the  dead.  It  was  only  thus  they  could,  in  any  measure, 
escape  from  the  power  of  these  evils,  and  blunt  the  point  of 
their  severity.  And  hence,  while  ordinarily,  they  carefully 
concealed  and  ignored  their  existence,  we  find  that  on  occasions 
of  social  festivity,  they  were  wont  to  introduce  them  in  their 
ugliest  form  of  representation,  in  order  that  by  the  combined 


THD  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  11 

hilarity  and  excitement  of  the  company,  they  might  triimiph 
over  their  awful  power,  and  make  them  subservient  to  their 
greater  excess  of  riot. 

"Religion  showed  her  head  from  realms  above 
Threatening  mankind  with  visage  horrible." 

'Twas  thus  that  clad  in  storms  of  yore 

She  spread  her  awful  mein, 
And  in  dread  lightenings  ope'd  the  door 

Of  the  eternal  scene. 
Sad  shades  and  shapes  were  there  revealed 

In  dismal  vision  clear, 
While  conscious  Guilt  the  pencil  held, 

And  dark,  portending  Fear. 

But  Abram  saw  his  children  throng 

Like  stars  in  heaven  at  night. 
Those  stars  they  heard  the  angelic  song. 

And  from  their  orbs  of  light 
Came  Bethlehem's  star,  which  with  us  dwells ; 

Since  when  they  never  roam, 
But  seem  to  walk,  like  sentinels. 

Around  our  earthly  home. 

Christianity,  therefore,  consecrates  sorrow,  and  leads  us  to 
the  house  of  mourning.  It  quickens  and  refines  our  sensi- 
bilities, that  we  may  be  the  more  susceptible  to  their  hallowed 
influences.  It  opens  up  to  them  the  deepest  recesses  of  the 
heart,  and  every  principle  in  our  nature.  It  eliminates  from 
these  scenes  of  trial  and  these  pangs  of  nature,  an  elevating, 
refining,  purifying  alembic,  with  which  to  restore  health  to  the 
soul  and  comfort  to  the  disconsolate.  It  crowns  with  the  dia- 
dem of  valour — patience  in  tribulation,  and  fortitude  in  adver- 
sity. It  exalts  as  the  greatest  hero  the  greatest  suflferer,  who 
is  made  perfect  through  manifold  afflictions,  and  who  in  hope- 
ful confidence  presses  on  to  the  kingdom  of  God.  Instead  of 
hopelessly  drawing  from  these  sufferings  and  sorrows  provo- 
cations to  abandoned  self-indulgence  in  present  pleasures, 
Christianity  regards  them  as  incentives  to  self-denial,  humility, 
activity  in  well-doing,  and  a  hearty  consecration  of  the  life 
that  now  is,  to  a  fitting  preparation  for  the  great  hereafter. 

Other  religions  buried  their  dead  out  of  sight  that  they  might 
soon  pass  out  of  mind ;  covered  them  with  the  pall  of  silence, 
and  left  them  in  eternal  darkness. 

Catullus,  to  give  point  to  one  of  his  ditties,  thus  sentimental- 
izes on  a  brother's  death : 

"Horatius.  now  unceasing  sore  distress 

From  the  Aonian  maids  withdraws  my  mind, 
For  how  can  it  the  muses'  theme  express. 

Which  toss'd  by  its  own  woes  no  rest  can  find? 


12  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

For  lately  has  my  brother  cross'd  the  strand 
Where  Lethe  flows  by  his  dear  pallid  feet ; 

He  on  the  Retian  shore  in  Trojan  land 

Lies  buried,  and  mine  eyes  no  more  shall  meet. 

No  more  to  speak  to  thee  !  no  more  to  hear ! 

No  more  to  see  thee  !  from  my  bosom  torn 
My  brother  !  unto  me  than  life  more  dear ! 

Still  will  I  ever  love  thee,  ever  mourn." 

Even  the  atheistic  Lucretius  is  haunted  by  the  same  fear  of 
death,  and  painfully  portrays  the  efforts  of  mankind  to  escape 
from  it. 

Then  Avarice  and  Ambition,  passions  blind, 

"Which  beyond  bounds  of  right  urge  on  mankind, 

Associates  and  ministers  of  crime. 

To  labour  nights  and  days  upward  to  climb. 

These   rankling  wounds  that  tend   on   mortal   breath 

Are  but  occasion'd  by  the  dread  of  Death  : 

For  shame,  contempt,  and  poverty  severe 

Apart  from  sweet  and  stable  life  appear, 

"Dwelling  beside   Death's  portals.     Hence  men  fear, 

And  far,  far  off  to  flee  them  with  false  dread 

They  strive,  as  from  the  dwellings  of  the  dead  ; — 

Inflame,  sedition,  civil  wars,  and  heap 

Wealth  upon  wealth,  slaughter  on  slaughter,  steep 

Their  hands  in  citizens'  and  in  kinsmen's  blood. 

And  find  no  safety  but  in  solitude." 

Thus  each  man  from  himself  attempts  to  flee, 

But  bears  within  him  that  same  enemy 

From  which  he  would  escape,  then  frets  the  more, 

Nor  doth  of  his  disease  the  cause  explore  ; 

Which  did  he  well  discern,  he  soon  would  cast 

All  other  things  aside,  and  to  the   last 

The  nature  of  man's  being  strive  to  know  : 

For  'tis  not  one  short  hour  for  weal  or  woe 

That  is  at  stake, — but  all  eternity, 

All  after  death — the  life  that  is  to  be, 

Christianity  on  the  other  hand,  cherishes  the  dead.  She 
keeps  them  alive  in  undying  memories.  She  communes  with 
them  spirit  with  spirit.  She  consecrates  their  graves,  adorns 
and  beautifies  the  place  of  their  repose,  and  plants  it  "with 
flowers  and  trees  of  heaven.  This  is  to  her  a  place  of  frequent 
resort.  She  loves  to  wander  there,  to  read  the  past,  to  bring 
up  the  dead,  to  converse  v/ith  them,  and  though  dead,  to  hear 
them  speak  in  the  still  small  but  thrilling  voice  of  sainted 
purity.  Here  in  her  earliest  times,  she  was  sure  to  be  found 
when  hunted  by  the  bloodhounds  of  persecution,  and  how  often 
did  the  Christian  mourner  water  with  her  blood  as  well  as 
tears,  the  grave  of  departed  piety.  And  when  driven  f rotn  the 
face  of  the  earth  by  relentless  and  inexorable  inhumanity, 
Christianity  took  refuge  within  its  bosom,  and  there  amid  the 
labyrinthine  passages  of  catacombs,  buried  her  dead,  and  amid 


THE  TlCACHINGS  OF  THIC  DEAD.  13 

their  corpses  slumbering  peacefully  in  the  surrounding  niches 
of  those  subterranean  walls,  worshipped  their  common 
Saviour,  sung  praises  to  Christ  as  God,  and  made  the  caverned 
vaults  resound  with  the  songs  of  glory  to  Him  who  had 
abolished  the  reign  of  death,  disarmed  it  of  its  sting,  and  the 
grave  of  its  victory,  and  united  the  living  and  the  dead  who  die 
in  the  Lord,  in  inseparable,  blissful  union. 

And  so  it  is  now,  and  every  where,  and  always.  Satisfying 
every  natural  instinct  and  affection  of  the  heart,  Christianity 
recognizes  and  sanctifies  our  yearning  for  our  departed  friends. 
How  beautiful  is  the  memory  of  the  dead,  as  seen  in  her  mel- 
lowing light !  What  a  holy  and  chastening  influence  does  it 
exert  upon  the  human  heart !  Is  there  one  who  has  not  some 
loved  friend  gone  to  heaven,  with  whom  he  delights  to  live 
again  in  memory  ?  Does  he  not  love  to  sit  down  in  the  hushed 
and  tranquil  hour  of  silent  meditation,  and  bring  before  him 
the  face  and  the  form  so  familiar  and  cherished — to  look  into 
the  eye  which  mirrored  not  more  clearly  his  own  face,  than 
the  soul  which  he  loves,  and  to  listen  to  the  tones  that  were 
once  melody  in  his  ear? 

In  a  recent  visit  to  a  family  burying  ground,  now  with  its 
deserted  Church  abandoned  to  decay,  a  writer  beautifully  illus- 
trates this  spiritual  communion  with  the  dead,  by  which 
Christianity  hallows  and  endears  the  place  of  their  last  repose. 

There,  in  that  quiet  churchyard,  dear  reader,  we  first  heard 
the  burial  service — then  new  to  us — alas !  how  familiar  now. 

We  can  recall  that  warm  and  sunny  October  day.  A  cold, 
still  figure  lay  in  our  home ;  weights  were  upon  the  closed  eyes 
to  keep  down  the  lids ;  and  the  white,  rigid  hands,  lay  as  they 
had  been  placed,  on  the  still  bosom.  Tears  had  wetted  the 
pillow — warm  lips  had  strove  with  kisses,  to  melt  the  gathering 
ice  of  death,  and  a  voice,  made  sharp  with  anguish,  had  gone 
up  to  Heaven  pleadingly. 

But  all  in  vain ! 

We  could  not  comprehend  why,  on  this  day,  we  were  dressed 
in  a  black  slip  and  black  sleeve-knots ;  and  as  our  childish  feet 
wound  through  the  open  gate  into  the  graveyard,  we  sometimes 
stooped  from  the  guiding  hand  to  pick  up  the  tufts  of  scarlet 
and  yellow  leaves,  which  made  this  place  of  graves  strangely 


14  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

gay.  The  cofifin  was  set  down  beside  an  open  grave,  while  the 
procession  trailed  through  the  long  grass,  and  circled  slowly 
around.  The  burial  service  for  the  dead  was  read,  and  then 
they  laid  the  cofifin  upon  ropes  and  gently  lowered  it.  There 
was  a  harsh  grating  against  the  hard  earth,  then  a  shovel-full 
of  loose  soil  was  thrown  upon  the  coffin.  We  recall,  even 
now,  the  fearful,  shivering,  tightened  clasp  of  a  cold  hand  that 
drew  us  up  to  the  grave's  brink,  as  those  cold  clods  fell  upon 
the  loved  bosom.  But  neither  the  anguish  of  the  form  at  our 
side,  nor  the  clinging  clasp  of  the  cold  hand  could  win  one 
answering  sigh  from  the  shrouded  form. 

They  filled  up  the  grave,  and  placed  green  sods  upon  the 
mound  they  raised,  and  when  all  was  gone,  we  went  away  and 
left  the  coffin  deep  in  the  quiet  earth,  where  the  bleak  winds 
could  not  reach  its  inmate.  The  next  day  we  were  chasing 
the  runaway  bees,  or  playing  with  toys  in  our  babyhouse,  or 
wondering  why  a  pale,  sad  face,  was  all  the  time  weeping. 

October  went  by,  and  the  trees  put  on  their  russet;  long 
spires  of  pallid  grass  waved  to  and  fro  heavily;  the  wind  awoke 
with  a  shiver,  and  marked  its  course  with  sobs  and  wailings; 
the  brooks  grew  bluer,  and  chillier,  and  then  the  bare  trees 
were  wreathed  in  white ;  and  the  mound  of  earth,  lost  beneath 
the  deep  snow  of  winter,  was  forgotten  by  all  but  the  stricken 
family.  One  mourner  kept  a  path  well  trodden,  and  though 
we  could  not  then  comprehend  why  her  face  bent  tearfully 
over  that  grave — we  learned  in  after  years  (ah  how  bitterly) 
what  it  meant.  We  have  comprehended,  since  then,  what  it  is 
to  have  a  coffin  and  a  heap  of  earth  between  oneself  and  the 
author  of  one's  being.  Oh !  it  is  a  sorrowful  thing  to  make 
the  grave  the  only  door  to  a  meeting  with  one  in  whose  bosom 
we  have  nestled. 

Many  an  hour,  in  blissful  childhood,  we  passed  in  that  quiet 
graveyard  with  only  one  companion.  Many  a  lesson  was 
taught  us  beside  that  green  mound — lessons  of  a  bright  spot, 
with  flowers  all  fadeless,  and  sainted  ones,  and  white  winged 
throngs  we  were  then  told  of.  One  who  watched  over  the 
"widow  and  the  fatherless,"  in  their  helplessness — counted  all 
their  tears  and  liorhtened  all  their  burdens. 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  15 

Long  years  have  wheeled  their  weary  round, 

Since  dark  and  deep  they  laid 
Thy  coffined  form,  and  heaped  the  earth. 

And  bowed  their  heads  and  prayed. 

Yet,  Father,  I  have  felt  thy  care. 

In  danger  o'er  me  thrown  ; 
And  when  cold  hearts  were  gathering  near, 

I  have  not  been  alone. 

Thou  seem'st  to  clasp  me  in  thine  arms. 

And  hold  me  to  thy  breast ; 
When  by  the  thronging  cares  of  earth 

I'm  wearied  and  oppressed. 

I  seem  to  close  my  aching  lids. 

And  sleep  upon  thy  arm. 
Which  used  to  seem  enough  to  me, 

To  shelter  from  all  harm. 

Yes,  let  US,  as  we  may  well  do,  talk  pleasantly  of  the  pious 
dead,  as  of  those  who  no  longer  suffer  and  are  tried.  With 
them  the  fear  and  the  longing,  the  hope,  the  terror,  and  the 
pain,  are  passed.  The  fruition  of  life  has  to  them  begun. 
How  unkind,  how  selfish,  how  unnatural,  were  it,  when  we 
inter  their  bodies  to  cease  the  utterance  of  their  names — the 
tender-hearted  dead,  who  so  struggled  in  the  parting  from  us — 
and  more  for  our  sakes  than  their  own — why  should  we  speak 
of  them  with  awe,  and  remember  them  only  with  sighing! 
Very  dear  were  they  when  hand  clasped  hand,  and  heart 
responded  to  heart,  and  why  are  they  less  dear,  because  grown 
perfect  in  loveliness  and  in  loving  kindness?  By  the  hearth 
side,  then,  and  by  the  grave  side,  in  solitude  and  amid  the  mul- 
titude, let  us  speak  cheerfully  and  lovingly  of  the  dead." 

Our  beloved  have  departed, 
While  we  tarry  broken-hearted. 

In  the  dreary  empty  house  ; 
They  have  ended  life's  brief  story, 
They   have    reached    the    home    of   glory 

Over  death  victorious. 

Hush  that  sobbing,  weep  more  lightly. 
On  we  travel,  daily,  nightly. 

To  the  rest  that  they  have  found. 
Are  we  not  upon  the  river. 
Sailing  fast  to  meet  forever. 

On  more  holy,  happy  ground  ? 

Whilst  with  bitter  tears  we're  mourning. 
Thought  to  buried  loves  returning, 

Time  is  hasting  us  along, 
Downward  to  the  grave's  dark  dwelling. 
Upward  to  the  fountain  welling 

With  eternal  life  and  song ! 

See  ye  not  the  breezes  hieing  ? 
Clouds  along  in  hurry  flying? 
But  we  haste  more  swiftly  on — 


16  THIi  TJJACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

Ever  changing  our  position, 
Ever  tossed   in  strange  transition — 
Here  to-day,  to-morrow  gone  ! 

Every  hour  that  passes  o'er  us 
Speaks   of  comfort   yet  before  us, 

Of  our  journey's  rapid  rate  ; 
And  like  passing  vesper  bells, 
The  clock  of  time  its  chiming  tells, 

At  eternity's  broad  gate. 

On  we  haste,  to  home  invited. 
There  with  friends  to  be  united 

In  a  surer  bond  than  here  ; 
Meeting  soon,  and  met  forever ! 
Glorious  hope !  forsake  us  never. 

For  thy  glimmering  light  is  dear. 

Ah  !  the  way  is  shining  clearer 
As  we  journey  ever  nearer 

To  the  everlasting  home. 
Friends  who  there  await  our  landing. 
Comrades  round  the  throne  now  standing 

We  salute  you,  and  we  come. 

The  dead  are  still  with  us.  There  is  a  communion  more  real 
and  more  satisfying  than  that  of  mere  bodily,  physical  and 
social  presence.  We  are,  by  original  constitution,  more  mental, 
moral,  emotional,  and  spiritual  beings,  than  we  are  sensitive, 
sensual,  and  physical.  And  were  we  now  what  we  were 
intended  to  be,  that  is,  sinless  beings — the  body  with  its  appe- 
tites and  wants  would  be  subordinated  and  kept  under,  and 
occupy  but  a  small  place  in  our  estimation  and  regard.  The 
subjugation  of  our  affections  and  souls  to  the  craving  power 
and  tyranny  of  the  bodily  appetites  and  desires  is  that  vanity 
to  which  the  creature  is  now,  by  reason  of  sin,  reduced,  and 
in  consequence  of  which  the  whole  creation  groans  and  travails 
in  pain  together,  so  that  even  the  children  of  God  groan  within 
themselves,  being  burdened.  Christianity  hears  the  despairing 
cry,  "oh  wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  shall  deliver  me  from 
the  body  of  this  death,"  and  brings  deliverance.  Grace  ele- 
vates and  ennobles  man's  nature  just  in  that  proportion  in 
which  it  reigns  and  rules  within  us.  It  purifies  the  moral 
atmosphere,  dissipates  the  rank  vapours  of  sensuality,  and 
imparts  to  the  faculties  of  memory,  association,  and  imagina- 
tion, power  of  abstraction,  an  ideal  life,  and  a  capacity  to  roam 
the  future,  bring  near  things  distant,  and  clothe  with  reality 
things  invisible  and  spiritual. 

Oft  when  we  pine  afar  from  those  we  love 
More  close  we  knit  the  spirit's  sympathies. 
By  mutual  prayer,  distance  itself  doth  prove 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  17 


A  greater  nearness.     With  such  stronger  ties 

Spirit  with  spirit  talks,  that  when  our  eyes 

Beheld  each  other,  something  sinks  within,  ■ 

Mocked  by  the  touch  of  earth's  realities. 

This  wondrous  capacity  of  the  soul  to  hold  communion  with 
far  distant  friends  is  sometimes  so  vivid,  as  to  give  a  realizing 
sense  of  their  presence  and  power  over  us.  The  experience 
alluded  to  is  very  graphically  described  by  a  recent  and  very 
pictorial  tourist  in  Europe. 

"Thus  o'er  the  sea,  as  slumbers  turned  to  dreaming, — 
That  so  mocks  real  life  with  vivid  seeming, — 
On  spectral  journeys,  e'en  in  rest  advancing, 
I  saw  in  prospect  hills  and  rivers  glancing : 

When,  lo  !  a  hand  I  feel  my  steps  arresting, 
And  hear  a  strange,  dumb,  ghostly  voice,  requesting 
My  quick  return,  the  track  unfinished  leaving ; 
Whereat  my  soul,  as  in  a  swoon,  sank  grieving. 

Wide  through  the  world's  eclipse  again  outreaching, 
That  vision  of  the  night  repeats  its  teaching ; 
With  sense  of  baffled  will  vague  sorrow  feeding, 
My  waking  wit  to  understand  exceeding. 

Would  earth  or  sky  disclose  for  me  a  meaning? 
Were  angel-forms  of  mortal  towards  me  leaning? 
What  summons  thus  subdued  me  to  obeying 
A  shadow  in  my  moving  or  my  staying? 

Ah,  shadow  cast  from  life  remote,  retreating? 
Ah,  cry  from  kindred  heart  more  slowly  beating ! 
O  God  !  so  distantly  could  I  be  learning 
For  sight  of  me  its  fond  and  frequent  yearning? 

Was  spirit's  ear,  so  fine,  from  spirit  hearing 
The  whisper  of  a  soft  and  tender  fearing, 
Lest  never  more  should  come,  in  earth's  beholding. 
What  lay  so  deep  within  the  bosom's  folding? 

Where'er  I  went,  went  still  the  dream  pursuing, — 
My  daily  thoughts  the  nightly  show  reviewing ; 
While  naught  I  knew,  howe'er  I  strove  at  knowing, 
But  only  as  it  urged  my  feet  were  going. 

Mystic  conductor  humbly  not  refusing. 
Homeward  I  blindly  sped,  no  moment  losing ; 
For  solemn  tiding  at  my  door  confessing 
To  what  I  owed  affection's  farewell  blessing. 

We  are  therefore  made  capable  of  a  communion  far  deeper 
than  that  of  bodily  presence,  or  even  of  memory.  It  is  a 
spiritual  communion.  It  is  that  fellowship  of  which  all  that 
is  material,  all  of  the  eye,  and  lips,  and  hands,  all  that  consti- 
tutes our  daily  and  most  endearing  social  intercourse,  are  but 
the  symbols.  These  are  only  interpretations  of  an  interior 
intercourse,  the  sensible  proofs  of  an  insensible  affection, 
plegdes  of  its  reality,  means  through  which  the  spirit  com- 
munes with  spirit.     They  are  therefore  necessarily  imperfect 

2— Vol.  X. 


18  THE  TEJACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

and  unsatisfying.  They  are  found,  after  all,  to  be  barriers 
and  interruptions  to  that  closer  and  more  endearing  sympathy 
which  their  very  intervention  renders  impossible.  And  hence 
it  is,  that  they  leave  behind  them  an  unappeased,  quenchless 
longing  for  a  nearer,  dearer,  and  more  perfect  fellowship.  The 
brightest  hopes  are  darkened  by  their  realization.  Expecta- 
tions the  most  enlarged  are  crushed  by  the  felt  poverty  even 
of  the  richest  luxurience  of  earthly  good,  and  feelings  the  most 
intense,  which  a  letter  read  in  absence  will  kindle  into  flame, 
often  die  away  into  slumbering  ashes  upon  the  hearth  stone  of 
our  homes.  How  much  more  soul-stirring  is  our  communion 
with  some  gifted  author,  when  we  read  his  works,  than  when 
we  see  him  face  to  face  ?  And  when  we  peruse  the  letter  of  a 
friend  long  dead,  how  powerfully  beyond  all  personal  presence, 
do  they  stir  up  the  fountain  of  our  deepest  emotions. 

And  thus  by  some  celestial  art 
With  friends  that  are  apart, 
Associate  feelings  will  awake, 
Or  thoughts  responsive  break : 
As  if  some  spirit  of  the  skies 
Convey'd  their  sympathies ! 

Moves  there  'mid  minds  some  unseen  power, 

Like  bee  from  flower  to  flower? 

With  intermingling  of  their  kinds — 

From  each  to  each  it  winds. 

The  seed,  or  dust,  or  honey  brings 

On  loaded  thigh  or  wings. 

Thus  also  it  is  that  in  the  perusal  of  the  Bible,  in  prayer,  in 
worship,  in  the  ordinances  of  the  Lord's  house,  and  especially 
in  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  soul  enjoys  such  near  and  living  and 
delightful  communion  with  that  adorable  and  ever  blessed 
Saviour,  whom  having  never  seen,  it  nevertheless  loves,  and  in 
whom  though  now  it  sees  Him  not,  it  rejoices  with  joy 
unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.  And  so  also  is  it  found,  that  in 
the  upper  chamber  where  brethren  are  gathered  together  with 
one  accord  for  prayer,  and  praise,  and  mutual  exhortation, 
that  heart  blends  with  heart,  and  all  are  melted  together  as 
unto  one  living,  loving  soul. 

Prayer  !  mighty  accent — language  winged — supreme — 
Which  in  a  single  sigh  blends  all  of  love. 
Which  makes  a  thousand  loved  ones,  scattered  far. 
Seen  by  the  heart,  and  present  before  God  ; 
Making  among  them,  by  fair  virtues  boon, 
The  viewless  interchange  of  heaven's  best  gifts, 
One  general  speech,  which  swells  unto  the  sky. 
And  rises  higher  to  be  better  heard. 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  19 

Incense  unquenchable,  which  doth  perfume 
Him  who  receives  and  him  who  lights  the  flame. 
For  thus  doth  soothing  hope  her  powers  employ, 
Sweet  visions  of  long  severed  hearts  to  frame. 
Though  absence  may  impair  or  death  destroy, 
Their  constant  presence  draws  us  still  the  same. 

Such  also  is  our  permitted  communion  with  the  dead. 
Though  dead,  they  yet  live.  They  yet  speak  to  us.  They  are 
near  and  round  about  us.  We  see  them  not.  We  hear  them 
not.  We  feel  them  not,  though  even  this  one  sometimes  seems 
to  do  in  sweet  visions  of  the  night.  But  we  think  of  them. 
We  conceive  their  well  known  forms.  We  remember  all  their 
love,  all  their  natural  features  and  manner  and  character.  We 
believe  them  to  exist  and  to  be  still  identical,  still  personal. 
We  believe  that  they  also  retain,  though  purified  and  enlarged, 
these  same  powers  and  affections.  They  abide  with  them 
imperishably  and  forever.  They  must  therefore  be  exercised 
towards  us  as  ours  are  towards  them,  and  thus  produce  mutual 
and  real  communion  of  souls  and  hearts,  of  memory,  love,  and 
hope.  Wherever  they  are,  and  whatever  may  be  their  condi- 
tion, we  know  of  the  pious  dead  that  they  are  happy  and  holy, 
that  they  are  with  Christ  in  paradise,  that  they  remember  us, 
and  pray  for  us  from  beneath  the  throne. 

The  dead.     The  dead   are  with  us : 

And  they  throng  around  our  way, 
And  the  greenness  of  their  memory 

In  our  hearts  can  ne'er  decay. 
When  round  the  hearth  we  gather. 

We  know  that  they  are  there  ; 
And  with  them  our  spirits  worship 

In  the  holy  place  of  prayer. 

Around  our  couch  at  midnight, 

Their  forms  flit  slowly  by, 
And  in  olden  tones  they  speak  to  us, 

Ere  they  fade  into  the  sky. 
At  twilight,  when  the  dew  falls, 

They  walk  with  us  and  sing, 
And  their  voice  is  like  the  murmuring 

Of  swallows  on  the  wing. 

And  when  in  social  circle 

We  join  the  merry  band. 
Or  in  the  hour  of  sorrow. 

Sit  silent  hand  in  hand. 
They  come  and  sit  beside  us. 

And  gaze  into  our  eyes ; 
And  we  listen  to  their  voices  then. 

With  a  calm  and  mute  surprise. 

The  departed — the  departed. 

They  crowd  around  me  now. 
And  a  sweet  and  cheerful  light  of  peace 

They  shed  upon  my  brow. 


20  the;  teachings  of  the  dead. 

I  know  they  have  not  left  me, 

Tho'  no  more  I   see  their  forms ; 
And  their  presence  'mid  the  strife  of  life, 

Is  like  sunshine  seen  in  storms. 

The  beautiful,  the  beautiful, 

All  silently  they  stand, 
Within  the  chambers  of  my  soul, 

A  fair  and  shadowy  band  ; 
And  from  out  those  chambers  now  and  then 

This  cheerful  voice  is  given, 
"Oh !  faint  not,  while  ye  walk  below 

Ye  dwell  with  us  in  heaven. 

No  earthly  sorrows  blight  us. 

No  chill  misfortunes  pain  ; 
Then  weep  not,  tho'  with  yovi  no  more — 

In  form  we  walk  again. 
Ye  feel  that  we  are  with  you — 

When  ye  wander  by  the  streams. 
And  ye  see  our  faces  as  of  old. 

In  the  pleasant  light  of  dreams. 

And  when  in  twilight  musings 

Ye  think  of  us  as  dead — 
And  o'er  our  grassy  resting  place 

The  sweet  spring  flowers  ye  spread. 
Remember,  for  the  soul  that  lives 

There  can  no  ending  be — 
Remember  that  the  soul  once  born, 

Lives  thro'  eternity." 

The  dead,  therefore,  still  speak  to  us.  They  soothe  and 
comfort  us  with  a  present,  a  living,  and  a  loving  communion, 
and  with  the  hope  of  a  perfect  personal  union  in  that  better 
world  where  we  shall  see  eye  to  eye,  and  know  even  as  we  are 
now  known.  They  draw  our  hearts  after  them.  They  are  not 
gone  where  we  never  expect,  or  wish,  to  go,  but  to  a  better 
country  than  this,  a  country  which  is  ours  also — to  which  we 
have  an  inheritance  incorruptible  and  undefiled,  reserved  for 
us — and  to  which  we  have  even  now  secured  to  us  an  indis- 
putable title. 

We  remember  when  a  boy,  seeing  a  much  elder  brother 
jump  from  the  wharf  into  the  boat  which  conveyed  him  to  the 
vessel  that  bore  him  to  this  foreign  land.  He  was  the  first  link 
severed  from  a  large  family,  and  the  event  was  sadly  impres- 
sive. How  anxiously  did  we  watch  the  receding  sail  until  it 
was  finally  lost  in  the  blue  horizon.  How  often  afterwards 
when  walking  along  the  seashore  did  we  feel  consoled  by  the 
thought  that  the  same  Atlantic  ocean  which  spread  itself  out 
in  magnificent  beauty  before  us,  rolled  its  waves  to  this  further 
shore,  where  he  might  be  also  treading — that  the  sun  which 
was  sinking  beneath  the  western  horizon,  would  in  the  morning 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  21 

rise  upon  the  eastern — and  that  the  same  moon  and  stars  which 
kindled  glory  in  the  evening  sky,  attracted  the  upward  gaze 
of  the  distant  wanderer.  When  we  met  around  the  family 
altar,  how  refreshing  was  it  to  mention  his  name,  to  remember 
him  in  prayer,  and  to  feel  that  around  the  mercy  seat  however 
separated  in  body,  we  could  mingle  our  spirits  and  our  peti- 
tions. And  as  one  brother  after  another  were  attracted  to  this 
land  of  promise,  how  were  the  affections  of  those  behind  cen- 
tred here !  How  home-like  did  America  become !  And  how 
gradually  were  all  remaining  ties  of  home  and  kindred  loos- 
ened, until  they  were  willingly,  though  sadly,  severed,  in  the 
hope  of  a  reunion  here.  And  thus  is  it  when  friend  after 
friend  departs  to  the  celestial  land.  They  are  not  lost,  but 
gone  before.  They  are  not  dead,  they  only  sleep  bodily  in  our 
dust,  while  their  spirits  have  returned  to  God.  They  are  now 
with  Him.  They  are  where  we  wish  soon  to  be,  and  where 
alone  we  can  be  fully  and  abidingly  happy.  They  are  gone 
to  prepare  a  place  for  us,  that  where  they  are,  we  may  also  be. 
And  we  cannot  but  feel  more  and  more  weaned  from  earth  as 
we  think  of  them,  and  commune  with  them,  and  as  we  become 
more  and  more  desirous  to  depart  and  be  with  Christ  and  them, 
which  is  far  better. 

Were  earth  our  home,  our  rest,  our  end,  these  severings  of 
heart-strings,  these  separations  of  commingled  souls  by  the 
blank  wall  of  death  through  which  we  cannot  see,  and  over 
which  we  cannot  pass,  how  dreadful  would  they  be !  But  if 
this  world  is  but  our  place  of  probation,  discipline,  and  prepa- 
ration for  our  true  homes  and  rest,  oh  how  needful  are  these 
bereavements  to  sever  our  affections  from  the  things  of  earth, 
around  which,  like  parasitic  plants,  they  so  luxuriantly  entwine, 
and  thus  open  up  to  us  that  heavenly  radiance  they  had  so 
much  obscured.  How  sweetly  does  Fanny  Forrester  depict 
these  earth  loving  ties  of  every  human  heart. 

0  do  not  let  me  die !  the  earth  is  bright. 
And  I  am  earthly,  so  I  love  it  well  ; 

Tho'  heaven  is  holier,  all  replete  with  light. 

Yet  I  am  frail,  and  with  frail  things  would  dwell. 

1  cannot  die  !  the  flowers  of  earthly  love 

Shed  their  rich  fragrance  on  a  kindred  heart ; 
There  may  be  purer,  brighter  flowers  above. 

Yet  with  these  ones  'twould  be  too  hard  to  part. 


22  the;  teachings  of  the  dead. 


I  dream  of  heaven,  and  well  I  love  those  dreams. 

They  scatter  sunlight  on  my  varying  way  ; 
But  'mid  the  clouds  of  earth  are  priceless  gleams, 

Of  brightness,  and  on  earth  O  let  me  stay. 

It  is  not  that  my  lot  is  void  of  gloom, 

That  sadness  never  circles  round  my  heart ; 

Nor  that  I  fear  the  darkness  of  the  tomb, 
That  I  would  never  from  the  earth  depart. 

'Tis  ihat  I   love  the  world,   its  cares,  its  sorrows, 
Its  bounding  hopes,  its  feelings  fresh  and  warm, 

Each  cloud  it  wears,  and  every  light  it  borrows, 
Loves,  wishes,  fears,  the  sunshine  and  the  storm. 

I  love  them  all ;  but  closer  still  the  loving 

Twine  with  my  being's  cords  and  make  my  life  ; 

And  while  within  this  sunlight  I  am  moving, 
I  well  can  bide  the  storms  of  worldly  strife. 

Then  do  not  let  me  die !  for  earth  is  bright, 

And  I  am  earthly,  so  I  love  it  well — 
Heaven  is  a  land  of  holiness  and  light. 

But  I  am  frail,  and  with  the  frail  would  dwell. 

And  as  no  one  has  learned  by  more  touching  sorrows  and 
bereavements  their  heavenly  power  to  wean  the  renewed  soul 
from  earth,  and  assimilate  and  uplift  its  desires  to  heaven,  so 
no  one  has  more  beautifully  and  feelingly  pourtrayed  it  than 
this  same  writer. 

Yes,  let  me  die !     Am  I  of  spirit-birth. 

And  shall  I  linger  here  where  spirits  fell, 
Loving  the  stain  they  cast  on  all  of  earth  ? 

0  make  me  pure,  with  pure  ones  e'er  to  dwell, 

'Tis  sweet  to  die !     The  flowers  of  earthly  love, 

(Frail,  frail  spring  blossoms)   early  droop  and  die  ; 

But  all  their  fragrance  is  exhaled  above, 
Upon  our  spirits  evermore  to  lie. 

Life  is  a  dream,  a  bright  but  fleeting  dream 

1  can  but  love  ;  but  then  my  soul  awakes. 
And  from  the  mist  of  earthliness  a  gleam 

Of  heavenly  light,  of  truth  immortal  breaks. 

I  shrink  not  from  the  shadows  sorrow  flings 
Across  my  pathway ;  nor  from  cares  that  rise 

In  every  foot-print ;  for  each  shadow  brings 
Sunshine  and  rainbow  as  it  glooms  and  flies. 

But  heaven  is  dearer.     There  I  have  my  treasure ; 

There  angels  fold  in  love  their  snowy  wings ; 
Their  sainted  lips  chant  in  celestial  measure. 

And  spirit  fingers  stray  o'er  heav'n-wrought  strings. 

There  loving  eyes  are  to  the  portals  straying ; 

There  arms  extend  a  wanderer  to  fold  ; 
There  waits  a  dearer,  holier  One,  arraying 

His  ozi'ii  in  spotless  robes  and  crowns  of  gold. 

Then  let  me  die.     My  spirit  longs  for  heaven. 

In  that  pure  bosom  evermore  to  rest ; 
But  if  to  labor  longer  here  be  given, 

"Father,  thy  will  be  done !"  and  I  am  blest. 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE)  DEAD.  23 

Were  this  communion  with  the  dead  more  constantly  and 
believingly  maintained,  would  it  not  have  much  influence  in 
learning  us  to  live  better  and  happier  and  holier  lives.  Selfish- 
ness, self-will,  and  many  painful  infirmities  of  disposition  and 
peculiarities  of  character  interfere,  to  a  very  unhappy  extent, 
with  social  enjoyment  and  happy  fellowship  even  in  families 
and  kindred.  In  the  daily  intercourse  of  life,  these  occasion 
many  a  harsh  jar  and  dissonance  of  feeling,  and  mars  the 
harmony  of  the  best  consorted  spirits.  They  lead  us  sadly  to 
undervalue  the  sweet  charities  of  love,  and  kindness,  and  self- 
denial  and  forbearance.  They  lead  us  to  dwell  upon  the  rough 
and  ugly,  or  at  least  unlovely  features  in  each  other's  char- 
acter, and  to  think  less  of  those  which  may  be  lovely  and 
attractive.  Alas  for  us,  we  are  blind  and  ignorant  as  to  what 
the  real  happiness  of  earth  is,  until  it  is  forever  taken  from  us. 
This  is  one  chief  reason  why  in  absence  our  affections  are  so 
much  deepened.  We  cease  to  think  so  exclusively  or  fre- 
quently of  what  is  imperfect  and  unlovely.  All  that  is  good 
and  true  and  beautiful,  comes  before  us  as  they  do  to  the  poet's 
and  the  painter's  eye,  enshrine  the  ideal  picture  on  which  we 
so  fondly  gaze,  and  make  us  wonder  that  in  communion  with 
such  a  character,  we  should  not  enjoy  perfect  union  of  heart 
and  sympathy.  But  it  is  only,  as  has  been  said,  when  those 
whom  we  love  pass  away,  that,  realizing  a  great  loss,  we  learn 
how  vital  was  that  relation,  how  inestimable  the  privilege 
which  is  withdrawn  forever.  How  quick,  then,  is  our  regret 
for  every  harsh  word  which  we  have  spoken  to  the  departed, 
or  for  any  momentary  alienation  which  we  have  indulged ! 
This,  however,  should  not  reduce  us  to  a  morbid  sensitiveness, 
or  an  unavailing  sorrow,  seeing  that  it  is  blended  with  so  many 
pleasant  memories;  but  it  should  teach  us  our  duty  to  the 
living.  It  should  make  our  affections  more  diligent  and  duti- 
ful. It  should  check  our  hasty  words,  and  assuage  our 
passions.  It  should  cause  us  day  and  night,  to  meet  in  kind- 
ness and  part  in  peace.  Our  social  ties  are  golden  Imks  of 
uncertain  tenure,  and,  one  by  one,  they  drop  away.  Let  us 
cherish  a  more  constant  love  for  those  who  make  up  our  family 
circle,  for  "not  long  may  we  stay."  The  allotments  of  duty, 
perhaps,  will  soon  distribute  us  into  different  spheres  of  action ; 


24  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

our  lines,  which  now  fall  together  in  a  pleasant  place,  will  be 
wide  apart  as  the  zones,  or  death  will  cast  his  shadow  upon 
these  familiar  faces,  and  interrupt  our  long  communion.  Let 
us,  indeed,  preserve  this  temper  with  all  men — those  who  meet 
us  in  the  street,  in  the  mart,  in  the  most  casual  or  selfish  con- 
cerns of  life.  We  cannot  remain  together  a  great  while,  at 
the  longest.  Let  us  meet,  then,  with  kindness,  that  when  we 
part,  no  pang  may  remain.  Let  not  a  single  day  bear  witness 
to  the  neglect  or  violation  of  any  duty  which  we  owe  to  our 
fellows.  Let  nothing  be  done  which  shall  lie  hard  in  the  heart 
when  it  is  excited  to  tender  and  solemn  recollections.  Let 
only  good-will  beam  from  faces  that  so  soon  shall  be  changed. 
Let  only  pleasant  and  fragrant  feelings  spring  up  in  those 
hearts  over  whose  common  grave  nature  will  soon  plant  her 
tributary  flowers. 

With  what  patience  and  thankfulness  also,  do  the  dead  teach 
us  to  enjoy  the  blessings  which  are  still  continued  to  us,  and  to 
bear  with  thankful  resignation  the  trials  and  discomforts  which 
are  mingled  with  our  lot.  Imperfect  in  ourselves,  we  never- 
theless, with  monstrous  inconsistency,  expect  perfection  in 
others  and  while  unhappy  and  discontented  within  ourselves, 
we  are  easily  worried  and  fretted  by  trifling  inconveniences 
around  us.  We  take  but  little  account  of  our  multiplied  mer- 
cies, in  our  undue  regard  to  incidental  evils.  It  is  only  when 
some  loved  one  is  taken  from  our  family  circle,  that  we  realize 
how,  in  comparison  with  the  loss  of  that  child,  or  wife,  or 
husband,  or  parent,  all  the  inconveniences  and  trials  of  life  are 
as  nothing,  and  less  than  nothing,  and  vanity.  We  could  now 
cheerfully  endure  a  thousand  ills  greater  than  any  we  have 
borne,  if  only  borne  in  fellowship  with  the  departed  one.  But 
in  him  as  by  one  devastating  wave,  everything  has  been  swept 
away,  and  the  earth  has  become  a  dreary  waste.  What  was 
before  great,  has  become  of  little  value.  What  we  most 
coveted,  ceases  to  attract.  And  the  trifles  which  annoyed  us, 
have  sunk  into  insignificance.  Let  us  then  lay  this  to  heart. 
Let  us  learn  and  ponder  upon  the  needful  lesson.  Let  us  turn 
our  thoughts  to  the  friends  still  spared  to  us.  Let  us  duly  esti- 
mate their  priceless  value.  Let  us  practically  feel  the  evanes- 
cent, temporary,  and  incidental  nature  of  all  our  possible  trials. 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  25 

And  remembering  how  soon  God  can  desolate  our  hearts  and 
our  homes,  by  one  single  visitation  of  His  bereaving  provi- 
dence, let  us  prize  one  another  as  our  chiefest  earthly  treasure, 
and  find  in  each  other's  society,  hallowed  by  pure  and  unde- 
filed  religion,  the  only  antidote  to  all  our  earthly  cares,  the 
compensation  for  all  our  trials. 

AH!  GRIEVE  NOT  SO. 
"Godliness  with  contentment  is  great  gain." — 1  Tim.  6,  6. 
"Nicht  so  traurig,  nicht  so  sehr." 
Ah  !  grieve  not  so,  nor  so  lament 

My  soul !  nor  troubled  sigh, 
Because  some  joys  to  others  sent 

Thy  Father  may  deny  ; 
Take  all   as   love   that  seems   severe — 
There  is  no  want  if  God  is  near. 

There  is  no  right  thou  canst  demand. 

No  title  thou  canst  claim  ; 
For  all  are  strangers   in  the   land 

Who  bear  the  human  name  : 
Earth    and   its  treasures   are   the   Lord's, 
And  He  the  lot  of  each  accords. 

How  thankless  art  thou,  child  of  man ! 

For  favors  that  abound  ; 
Thy  God  has  given  thee  eyes  to  scan 

The  glory  all  around  ; 
Yet  seldom  for  this  priceless  sight, 
Hast  thou  been  heard  to  praise  aright. 

Number  thy  limbs,  thy  members  tell, 

And  ask  thy  thankless  soul, 
If  another  thou  wouldst  sell 

Even  the  smallest  of  the  whole. 
There  is  not  one  from  which  thy  heart 
Would  willingly  submit  to  part. 

Now,  go  and  search  the  depths  of  mind. 

Explore  its  wondrous  power, 
New  proofs  of  benefits  to  find. 

That  meet  thee  every  hour  ; 
More  than  the  sand  upon  the  shore, 
And  ever  rising  more  and  more. 

He  knows,  who  lives  on  Zion's  hill, 

What  we  in  truth  require  ; 
Knows  too  how  many  blessings  still 

This  flesh  and  blood  desire  ; 
And  could  He  safely  all  bestow. 
He  would  not  let  thee  sorrowing  go. 

Thou  wert  not  born  that  earth  should  be 

A  portion  fondly  sought  ; 
Look  up  to  heaven  and  smiling  see 

Thy  shining  golden  lot ! 
Honours  and  joys,  which  thou  shalt  share, 
Unending  and  unenvied  there  ! 

Then  journey  on  to  life  and  bliss, 

God  will  protect  to  heaven  ; 
And  every  good  that  meets  thee  is 

A  blessing  wisely  given. 
If  losses  come  so  let  it  be — 
The  God  of  heaven  remains  with  thee. 


26  THE  TEACHINGS  OE  THE  DEAD. 

That  these  lessons  may  have  all  their  impressiveness,  let  us 
remember  that  the  dead  constitute  a  multitude,  in  comparison 
with  whom,  all  the  living  are  as  nothing.  There  are  alive  upon 
the  earth  some  one  thousand  millions  of  human  beings.  How 
many,  then,  have  lived  and  died  during  the  six  thousand  years 
that  have  elapsed  since  man  first  became  an  inhabitant  of 
earth.  Their  number  is  legion.  It  is  past  finding  out.  Could 
they  return  to  this  world,  it  would  not  be  able  to  contain  them. 
Could  they  encompass  it  round  about,  they  would  darken  all 
the  sky.  And  we  shall  see  them,  one  and  all,  on  the  great  final 
day  of  the  gathering  together  in  one,  of  the  quick  and  the 
dead,  before  the  throne  of  final  judgment.  At  death  we  enter 
among  them  in  one  or  other  of  their  present  habitations,  where 
they  await  in  longing  hope,  or  fearful  apprehension,  the  con- 
summation of  all  things.  And  even  now,  they  soar  round 
about  us,  though  we  see  them  not,  as  a  great  cloud  of  wit- 
nesses, if  not,  also  to  some  extent,  perhaps,  as  ministering 
spirits.  With  what  a  pressure  of  the  powers  of  the  world  to 
come,  ought,  then,  their  testimony  to  be  heard.  How  much 
more  ought  it  to  impress  us  than  any  utterances  of  the  living, 
beguiled  as  they  are  by  sin  and  satan,  and  unwise  and  evil 
ways? 

And  with  what  unanimity  does  the  whole  multitude  of  the 
dead,  testify  by  the  brevity  of  their  lives  and  the  necessity  of 
their  death,  that  life  is  vanity  except  as  spent  in  preparation 
for  eternity ;  that  death  is  certain  and  near ;  that  health  is  but 
the  sap  of  the  tree,  which  the  winter's  blast  will  soon  drive 
again  to  earth ;  that  beauty  is  only  the  blossom  of  the  flower, 
which  even  in  blooming  fades;  that  fame  is  but  the  fragrant 
perfume  which  exhales  and  disappears  as  soon  as  it  is  given — 
and  that  all  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  and  the  lusts  of  the  eyes,  and 
the  pride  of  life,  are  less  than  nothing  and  vanity,  sunbeams 
sparkling  upon  the  waters  of  death !  With  what  overpowering 
emphasis,  also,  do  the  dead,  one  and  all,  exclaim,  "Prepare,  O 
man,  to  meet  thy  God.  Live  not  for  self,  or  for  sin,  or  ease, 
or  wealth,  or  pleasure,  or  for  anything  seen  and  temporal,  for 
what  shall  it  profit  you  to  gain  all  these  and  lose  your  undying 
soul." 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  27 


In  thy  heart  there  is  a  chamber, — 

None  but  God  and  thou  hath  seen  it — 

Darkened  by  the  sombre  shadows 

From  the  folds  of  thought  that  screen  it. 

On  its  walls  are  many  pictures 

Painted  by  the  hand  of  time, 
Sketches   of   those   mystic   regions 

In  the  Infinite  sublime. 

There  are  portraits  of  the  faces 
That  have  passed  away  from  earth, 

Glimpses  of  those  sunny  places 
Sacred  to  thy  childhood  mirth. 

Of  the  homestead,  old  and  mossy, 
Close  beside  the  meadow  green, 

Where  the  brooks  like  threads  of  silver. 
Wound  their  graceful  curve  between. 

And,  it  is  a  haunted  chamber, 

There  the  ghosts  at  midnight  stray, 

Silent  as  the  stars  that  wander 
Down  the  white-pav'd  Milky  Way. 

You  behold  the  light  forms  trembling 
In  their  pure  robes  like  a  bride, 

And  they  look  so  like  the  living 
You  forget  that  they  have  died. 

You  forget  the  marble  features 
Of  the  friend  you  laid  to  rest. 

You  forget  the  pale  hands  folded 
On  a  pulseless,  soulless  breast. 

But  you  see  him  slowly  walking 
'Mid  the  glow  life's  sunset  weaves, 

When  his  lips  dropp'd  farewell  blessings 
As  the  trees  their  autumn  leaves. 

Thus  comes  he  long  since  departed. 
Reaching  out  his  hands  to  thine. 

And  his  lips  unto  thee  murmur 
In  a  tone  which  seems  divine. 


iance 


In  this  chamber  stands  a  mirror, 

Memory's  lamp  hangs  overhead, 
Throwing  down  a  soften'd  radianc 

On  those  pictures  of  the  dead. 

In  its  clear  depths  we  distinguish 

What  we  were,  and  what  we  are. 
There  our  inner  life  reflected, 

Shows  us  hideous  or  fair. 

Oh  !   'tis  in  this  secret  chamber 

That  we  learn  a  solemn  truth, 
As  in  links  of  spirit  union. 

Age  is  join'd  again  with  youth. 

It  is  true  that  this  testimony  of  the  dead  is  given  in  mute 
silence.  They  speak  to  us  but  not  in  words.  They  utter  their 
voice,  but  it  is  in  a  silence  far  more  powerful  than  any  lan- 
guage— in  a  way  which  is  equally  understood  by  every  speech 
and  language,  and  by  every  human  heart.  How  silent,  and 
yet  with  what  mute  eloquence  speaks  the  vacant  chair  of  the 


28  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

departed;  the  banquet  hall  now  empty,  cold,  and  damp,  the 
silent  woods,  the  mouldering  ruin,  the  deserted  house,  the 
starry  night  with  its  eternal  solitude !  Who  has  ever  felt  such 
deep  and  soul-absorbing  emotion,  such  soul-stirring  and  multi- 
tudinous thoughts,  as  when  he  has  stood  in  the  chamber  where 
the  good  man  breathes  his  last ;  when  every  eye  is  intent  upon 
the  slumberer  sinking  calmly  into  the  untroubled  sleep  of  death, 
when  every  breath  is  hushed,  and  an  unearthly  awe  rests  upon 
every  spirit?  But  how  much  deeper  still  is  the  awe  profound, 
when  the  mourners  enter  the  room  where  that  sleeper,  whom 
the  peal  of  a  thousand  cannons  could  not  now  disturb,  lies  still 
and  motionless ;  and  when  they  gather  round  the  opened  grave, 
and  hear  the  clay  rattling  upon  the  coffin  lid  of  the  loved  form 
so  lately  by  their  side. 

Oh  let  that  silent  noise  with  which  the  dead  so  touchingly 
speaks  to  us,  impress  our  hearts.  Let  us  give  it  earnest  heed. 
Let  us  open  to  it  the  ear  of  our  inmost  soul.  Let  us  ponder 
and  weigh  it  well.  They  tell  us  that  with  them  all  of  life  is 
now  finished,  and  that,  with  death,  is  finished  the  all  of  every 
man's  probation  for  eternity.  Death  closes  the  account  and 
ends  the  harvest.  Were  it  otherwise,  would  not  He  who  loved 
the  world  with  such  an  infinite  love,  have  revealed  it  to  us? 
He  has  revealed  to  us  the  future  of  the  earth,  the  future  of 
heaven  and  hell,  and  had  there  been  any  other  probationary 
scene  than  this  present  life,  would  God  not  have  made  it 
known ;  would  He  not  have  allowed  the  angelic  messengers,  or 
some  spirit  among  the  just  made  perfect,  to  impart  the  con- 
solatory truth?     Life,  then,  and  this  life  only, 


Since — 


is  the  time  to  serve  the  Lord, 

The  time  to  insure  the  great  reward  ; 

In  the  cold  grave  to  which  we  haste, 
There  are  no  acts  of  pardon  past ; 
But  darkness,  death,  and  long  despair 
Reign  in  eternal  silence  there. 

On  him  who  dies  in  his  sins,  unpardoned,  the  wrath  of  God 
abideth  forever,  while  they  who  die  in  the  Lord,  are  blessed 
from  henceforth  and  forever. 

Thus  do  the  dead  yet  speak  to  us.     They  tell  us  that  as  they 
were  born,  and  lived,  and  died,  individually,  and  not  in  compa- 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  29 

nies  or  corporations,  or  churches,  but  each  one  alone  and  by 
himself,  so  did  they  all  stand  severally  before  the  judgment 
seat  of  Christ,  and  there  receive,  according  to  their  course  in 
this  world,  whether  good  or  evil.  The  dead  also  proclaim  to 
us  with  united  voice,  the  immutability  of  the  divine  law — God's 
impartial  and  unpitying  justice,  and  the  unerring  certainty  of 
retribution.  Not  one  of  all  these  myriads  has  escaped  death, 
the  penalty  of  God's  violated  law,  except  two,  who  were 
miraculously  taken  up  to  heaven,  to  prove  to  us  that  death  is 
neither  natural,  nor  necessary,  nor  final,  to  man.  They  teach 
us,  therefore,  that  not  one  of  all  the  generations  yet  unborn, 
shall  be  delivered  from  death.  Not  one  of  those  now  alive  can 
pass  by  death  into  eternity.  Just  as  certain  as  our  birth  and 
life,  is  also,  our  death.  And  as  we  live  alone,  individually, 
each  one  responsible  for  himself,  his  life,  his  character,  his 
principles,  opinions,  and  conduct,  and  for  all  these,  as  it  regards 
man,  and  God,  and  Christ,  the  Savior,  and  the  Holy  Spirit — so 
must  we  one  by  one,  die  alone,  and  be  judged  alone,  and  be 
either  damned  or  saved  alone. 

The  dead  also  teach  us  the  all-important  truth  that  death 
is  no  certain  criterion  of  real  piety.  It  ought  to  be  such.  It 
is  naturally  such.  If  ever  a  man  is  candid  and  sincere,  he  is 
so  when  all  the  motives  of  concealment,  and  all  the  influences 
of  a  worldly  nature,  must  to  a  great  extent  cease  to  operate. 
This  is  generally  the  case.  Death  is  the  great  teacher,  and  also 
the  great  revealer  of  secrets.  And  when  death  is  met  in  a 
calmness,  in  full  possession  of  reason,  with  a  perfect  knowl- 
edge of  its  near  and  inevitable  approach,  it  will  generally  bring 
out  the  real  character  and  disposition  and  principles.  But  it 
will  not  change  a  man's  real  character  and  fixed  principles. 
These  may  be  atheistic,  infidel,  pharasaic  pride,  self-righteous 
confidence,  ignorance  of  the  gospel,  and  reliance,  therefore,  on 
some  refuge  of  lies,  whose  insecurity  may  only  be  discovered 
at  death.  Or  a  man  may  exhibit  confidence  in  death  from  a 
reliance  on  the  prayers  of  others,  or  baptism,  or  attendance  at 
church,  or  what  is  called  respect  for  religion,  or  a  more  out- 
ward, formal,  and  worldly  profession  of  religion.  Or  the 
character  exhibited  in  death  may  be,  as  it  often  is,  open,  aban- 
doned, hardened  impiety,  blasphemy  and  indfiference.     Death, 


30  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

in  order  to  be  felt  as  terrible,  must  be  fully  realized  in  its 
nature,  and  consequences,  and  dread  alternatives.  There  is 
nothing  in  death  itself,  or  in  the  mere  pain  of  ordinary  dying 
to  terrify  or  alarm.  The  great  majority  of  men  probably  meet 
death  in  a  state  of  physical  insensibility  and  mental  weakness 
or  aberration.  Many  die  just  as  the  beasts  that  perish.  Many 
die  as  the  fool  dieth,  utterly  thoughtless  of  the  future.  And 
many  meet  death  while  wholly  at  ease  and  quiet,  and  without 
any  bands  in  their  death.  God  gives  many,  also  up  to 
damnable  delusion,  that  they  may  believe  a  lie,  so  as  to  repose 
upon  it  as  upon  a  bed  of  ease,  even  in  death.  God  leaves  men 
to  die  in  all  variety  of  forms,  both  of  faith,  feeling,  and  hope, 
in  order  that  the  living  may  not  trust  to  a  dying  hour,  or  to 
dying  experience,  or  to  any  dying  expressions.  In  them- 
selves, these  are  nothing,  and  worth  nothing.  At  the  very 
best,  they  only  tell  us  what  the  man  is,  and  thinks,  and  believes. 
But  as  often  as  otherwise,  all  such  dying  calmness  and  confi- 
dence are  hollow  and  insincere,  assumed  and  not  real,  the 
offspring  of  fear  and  alarm,  or  the  desperate  attempt  of  the 
cowardly  and  terrified  spirit  to  keep  up  its  courage,  and  to 
brave  it  out.  Death  is  terrible  not  because  it  is  painful.  Sin 
is  the  sting  of  death,  and  it  is  only  in  proportion  as  this  sin  is 
realized,  that  the  thought  of  death  is  alarming.  The  law 
which  denounces  and  inflicts  death  as  the  penalty  of  its  viola- 
tion, is  that  which  gives  strength  and  vigour  to  this  sting  of 
death  which  is  sin.  It  is  this  consciousness  of  guilt  which 
inflames  the  conscience,  kindles  up  fear,  and  terror,  and  a 
certain  looking  for  of  judgment  and  fiery  indignation,  since 
these  all  depend  upon  the  clearness  of  our  knowledge  of  the 
holiness  and  spirituality  and  breadth  and  immutability  of  God's 
law. 

Of  this  law  and  of  all  sin  involving  guilt  and  punishment,  all 
men  have  some  knowledge,  and  therefore  some  fear;  and 
although  a  man  may  drown  that  fear  of  death  in  wickedness, 
and  pervert  his  conscience  by  false  philosophy,  and  keep  down 
a  sense  of  guilt  and  a  dread  of  death  by  pride,  and  conceal  and 
try  in  every  way  to  escape  from  it,  and  succeed  too  often  in 
thus  searing  conscience  as  with  a  hot  iron,  and  dying  in  utter 
stupidity — yet  very  often,  in  the  worst  and  most  ignorant  of 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  31 

men,  as  for  instance,  in  Pharoah,  in  Nebuchadnezzar,  in  Bel- 
shazzar,  in  the  sailors  of  Jonah's  vessel,  God  awakens  the  sleep- 
ing conscience,  and  lets  loose  the  dogs  of  hell,  the  worm  that 
never  dies,  enkindles  the  fire  that  is  never  quenched,  to  torm.ent 
them  before  the  time,  in  order  to  demonstrate  in  the  body  in 
this  life,  and  in  this  world,  the  nature  and  the  beginning  of 
that  misery  that  shall  hereafter  be  the  portion  of  all  who  die 
in  their  sins.  Of  this,  from  time  to  time,  God  gives  public  and 
awful  examples,  as  in  the  case  of  Voltaire,  of  Spira,  of  Paine, 
and  of  multitudes  in  private  life,  who  are  driven  away  in  their 
wickedness,  and  with  terrible  apprehensions  of  their  certain 
perdition.  The  experience  and  the  testimony  of  one  such 
sinner,  dying  in  his  reason,  and  with  the  full  knowledge  of  all 
his  previous  atheism  or  infidelity,  or  unbelief  in  hell  and 
damnation,  is  an  irresistible  proof  of  the  reality  of  such  fears 
and  forebodings  in  the  human  soul,  and  of  their  certain  premo- 
nition of  the  terrible  hereafter.  They  are  otherwise  utterly 
inexplicable,  while  the  fact  that  in  the  majority  of  cases  they 
may  not  be  felt,  can  easily  be  accounted  for  on  the  principles 
already  explained. 

And  we  are  here  led  to  remark  that  just  as  it  is  with  the 
teachings  of  the  dead  in  their  dying  hour,  so  is  it  with  their 
teachings  after  death.  We  have  seen  what  death  should  teach 
to  all,  and  that  the  dead  should  speak  to  all.  But  even  as  the 
ears  of  the  dead  are  often  closed,  so  that  they  cannot  hear,  and 
therefore  cannot  feel  aught,  even  so  is  it  with  the  living.  The 
ears  of  multitudes  are  closed,  so  that  they  will  not  hear,  and 
their  eyes  shut,  so  that  they  cannot  see,  and  their  hearts  hard- 
ened, so  that  they  cannot  feel.     To  them  the  dead  forgotten  lie  : 

Their  memory  and  their  sense  are  gone, 
Alike  unknowing  and  unknown. 
Their  hatred  and  their  love  are  lost, 
Their  envy  buried   in  the  dust  ; 
They  have  no  share  in  all  that's  done 
Beneath  the  circuit  of  the  sun. 

But  while  this  condition  is  common  among  men,  it  is  abnor- 
mal— even  unnatural.  And  while  it  is  proverbial,  that  "dead 
men  tell  no  tales,"  yet  if  our  relation  to  them  has  been  one  of 
crime,  they  haunt  and  terrify  with  their  continual  and  unap- 
peasable cry.  Being  dead  they  speak,  and  though  not  audible 
to  others,  their  still  small  cry  is  louder  than  a  peal  of  thunder 


32  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 


to  the  terrified  and  self-tortured  spirit.     Better  face  ten  thou- 
sand living  foes  than  one  dead  victim  of  our  crime. 

This  power  of  the  dead  to  influence  and  terrify  the  prosper- 
ous living,  is  powerfully  depicted  by  Shakespeare  in  many 
characters,  and  among  others,  in  that  of  Claudius,  king  of 
Denmark.  But  perhaps  no  one  has  ever  more  truthfully  por- 
trayed the  power  of  the  dead  over  the  guilty  living  than  Hood, 
in  his  Eugene  Aram. 

And  long  since  then  of  bloody  men, 

Whose  deeds  tradition  saves  ; 
Of  lonely  folk  cut  off  unseen, 

And  hid  in  sudden  graves  ; 
Of  horrid  stabs  in  groves  forlorn. 
And  murders  done  in  caves. 

And  how  the  spirits  of  injured  men 

Shriek  upward  from  the  sod — 
And  how  the  ghostly  hand  will  point 

To  show  the  burial  clod  ; 
And  unknown  facts  of  guilty  acts. 
Are  seen  in  dreams  from  God. 

He  told  how  murderers  walked  the  earth 

Beneath  the  curse  of  Cain — 
With  crimson  clouds  before  their  eyes, 

And  flames  about  their  brain  ; 
For  blood  that  left  upon  their  souls 
Its  everlasting  stain. 

Nothing  but  lifeless  flesh  and  bone, 

That  could  not  do  me  ill ; 
And  yet  I  feared  him  all  the  more. 

For  lying  there  so  still ; 
There  was  a  manhood  in  his  look, 
That  murder  could  not  kill. 

And  lo  !  the  universal  air 

Seemed  lit  with  ghostly  flame — 
Ten  thousand  thousand  dreadful  eyes 

Were  looking  down  in  blame  ; 
I  took  the  dead  Man  by  his  hand, 
And  called  upon  his  name. 

Oh  God  !  it  made  me  quake  to  see 

Such  sense  within  the  slain  ! 
But  when  I  touched  the  ghostly  clay 

The  blood  gushed  out  amain. 
For  every  clot  a  burning  spot 
Was  scorching  in  my  brain. 

My  head  was  like  an  ardent  coal, 

My  heart  was  solid  ice  ; 
My  wretched,  wretched  soul,  I  knew 

Was  at  the  devil's  price  ; 
A  dozen  times  I  groan'd ;  the  dead 
Had  never  groaned  but  twice. 

And  now  from   forth  the  frowning  sky, 

From  the  heaven's  topmost  height, 
I  heard  a  voice — the  awful  voice 

Of  the  blood-avenging  sprite  ; 
"Thou  guilty  man  !  take  up  thy  dead. 
And  hide  it  from  my  sight!" 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THK  DEAD.  33 

So  wills  the  fierce  avenging  sprite, 

Till  blood  for  blood  atones ! 
Ay  though  he's  buried  in  a  cave, 

And  trodden  down  with  stones, 
And  years  have  rotted  off  his  flesh — 
The  world  shall  see  his  bones. 

Of  this  terrific  power  of  the  dead  to  taunt  and  torment  the 
living,  the  Bible  gives  many  illustrations,  both  in  its  preceptive 
and  historical  books.     Take  one  scene. 

Behold,  the  price  of  courtly  dance. 
The  fruit  of  forbidden  glance. 

The  head  of  Christ's  great  harbinger ! 
The  voice  which  did  repentance  call. 
From  sylvans  rude  to  palace  hall ; 

Hush'd  is  that  voice  and  tongue,  and  ne'er  again  shall  stir. 

Nay,  is  that  tongue  forever  stilled? 
Nay,  it  anew  his  ears  hath  fill'd. 

That  they  can  nothing  hear  no  more ; 
Abroad  the  Baptist's  shadow  stalks, 
In  secret  to  his  spirit  talks 

Of  that  incestuous  crime  more  sternly  than  before. 

He  saw,  and  startled  back,  I  trow. 

When  on  that  glittering  festive  scene 
Death's  silent  image  looked  forth  now 
From  that  same  majesty  of  brow. 

Reproving,  gray,  serene. 

We  have  seen  what  death  is  to  thoughtless  and  unbelieving 
men,  and  how,  while  its  teachings  are  too  generally  unheard 
and  unheeded,  in  other  cases  they  are  heard  in  wailings  of 
despair,  and  yells  of  premonitory  damnation.  Nor  does  death 
cease  to  be  death,  and  therefore  dreadful,  to  the  Christian.  To 
him  also,  death  is  the  king  of  terrors — the  last  enemy  that  shall 
be  destroyed — through  fear  of  whom  he  is  more  or  less  in 
bondage  all  his  life.  To  him  as  well  as  to  others,  and  indeed 
in  an  eminent  and  peculiar  degree,  there  is  everything  to  make 
death  fearful.  He  has  a  deep  consciousness  of  sin,  a  clear 
knowledge  of  the  law,  and  therefore  a  realizing  conviction  of 
guilt,  of  death  as  the  penalty,  of  a  coming  judgment,  and  of 
an  everlasting  perdition.  To  meet  death  calmly,  quietly,  hope- 
fully, or  exultingly,  with  such  a  faith,  and  in  the  full  possession 
of  his  reason,  is  only  to  be  conceived  of  as  possible  on  the  sup- 
position of  a  perfect  self-deluding  hope,  or  a  certain  inward, 
spiritual  experience  of  the  power  of  a  divine  Redeemer.  True 
Christians  are  therefore  living  and  dying  witnesses  for  the 
truth  and  certainty,  and  sufficiency  of  Christian  faith,  hope, 
peace,  and  joy,  not  only  to  outride  all  the  storms  of  life,  but 

3— Vol.  X. 


34  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

to  hold  US  fast,  and  secure  for  us  a  glorious  entrance  into  the 
haven  of  eternal  felicity,  amid  the  thunderings  and  lightnings 
and  tempestuous  hurricane  of  death  itself. 

How  important,  then,  how  inestimably  valuable  is  the  teach- 
ings of  the  dead,  especially  of  those  who  die  in  the  Lord  They 
are  signs  and  seals  of  the  covenant  of  promise.  They  are  epis- 
tles in  which  the  sure  mercies  of  God  are  seen  and  read  of  all 
men.  They  are  like  the  setting  of  the  sun  in  glory  and  in 
beauty,  gilding  the  whole  horizon  of  life  with  an  unearthly 
splendour,  and  giving  the  promise  of  a  coming  morn  more 
bright  and  beautiful.  They  are  links  between  the  spirit  land 
and  ours,  already  shining  with  its  radiance,  speaking  with  its 
tones  of  melodious  sweetness,  and  imparting  to  us  some  earnest 
and  foretaste  of  its  seraphic  joys.  By  their  lives  they  taught 
us  how  to  live,  and  by  their  death  they  teach  us  how  to  die. 
They  were  lovely  in  life,  and  beautiful !  very  beautiful  in 
death !  In  them  death  appeared  transformed  from  a  spirit  of 
darkness  into  an  angel  of  light,  from  an  executioner  into  a 
messenger,  from  an  enemy  into  a  friend,  from  a  curse  into  a 
blessing,  and  from  a  terror  into  a  triumph. 

And  these  pious  dead  are  still  ours — still  with  us — and  still 
speak  to  us.  The  blessed  dead !  how  free  from  all  sin  and 
selfishness  and  stain  of  corruption,  is  the  love  we  now  cherish 
towards  them.  The  earthly  is  all  buried  with  that  which  in 
them  was  earthly,  and  the  spiritual  and  unearthly  in  us  now 
rises  towards  them  as  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect  in 
heaven.  There  they  shine,  fixed  immutably  in  purity  and 
peace,  and  joy.  They  are  ours  forever — beyond  all  need  of 
our  sympathy,  all  sorrow  for  their  sufferings,  and  all  anxiety 
for  their  final  salvation.  They  now  await  our  coming  in  man- 
sions of  rest  prepared  for  our  common  indwelling.  We  shall 
find  them  waiting  for  us  in  the  garments  of  beauty,  and  with 
everlasting  joy  upon  their  heads. 

How  glorious  and  exalted  are  they !  How  reverently  do  we 
take  their  names  into  our  sin-polluted  lips !  How  do  our 
hearts  burn  within  us  when  we  remember  all  the  words  they 
spake  to  us,  the  counsels  they  left  behind,  and  the  lessons  they 
still  enforce. 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  35 

The  immortal  dead!  how  unchanging,  how  purified  and 
enlarged  is  their  love  for  us !  With  what  ineffable  tenderness 
do  they  look  down  upon  us !  With  what  unspeakable  concern 
do  they  await  the  end  of  our  course,  and  the  last  faithful  and 
victorious  conquest  over  sin  and  satan.  And  in  view  of  the 
coldness  of  all,  the  formality  of  many,  the  worldliness  of  the 
most  spiritual  and  the  backsliding  of  the  most  devoted,  how  do 
they  invoke  us  to  walk  humbly,  to  watch  unto  prayer,  and  to 
give  all  diligence  to  make  our  calling  and  election  sure. 

Hark !  a  voice,  it  cries  from  heav'n, 
Happy  in  the  Lord  who  die  ; 
Happy  they  to  whom  'tis  given, 
From  a  world  of  grief  to  fly ! 

They  indeed  are  truly  blest ; 

From  their  labours  then  they  rest. 

All  their  toils  and  conflicts  over, 
Lo !  they  dwell  with  Christ  above  ; 
O !  what  glories  they  discover 
In  the  Saviour  whom  they  love ! 

Now  they  see  Him  face  to  face, 

Him  who  saved  them  by  His  grace. 

'Tis  enough,  enough  for  ever, 
'Tis  His  people's  bright  reward  ; 
They  are  blest  indeed  who  never 
Shall  be  absent  from  their  Lord ! 

O !  that  we  may  die  like  those 

Who  in  Jesus  then  repose  ! 

In  such  experience  our  church  is  rich.  We  have  had  a  long 
line  of  faithful  confessors  who  have  gone  up  with  a  shout,  and 
are  now  entered  into  their  rest.  We  are  well  represented 
among  the  elders  round  about  the  throne,  the  servants  of  God, 
who  serve  Him  day  and  night  in  His  temple,  and  the  innumer- 
able multitude  who  worship  before  Him,  and  sing  the  new  song 
of  Moses  and  the  Lamb.  We  have  had  a  few  apostles — alas 
for  it — but  we  have  had  many  martyrs  We  may  enroll  upon 
our  list  of  members  some  who  have  gone  back,  but  more,  many 
more  that  have  followed  the  Lamb  whither  soever  He  led  them, 
until  they  were  translated  by  Him  to  His  celestial  fold.  And 
while  some  have  left  our  earthly  abode,  who,  dying,  gave  no 
sign,  no  sure  pledge  and  token  of  their  safety,  many  have  there 
been,  whose  dying,  like  their  living,  was  sweet,  and  whose 
memory  is  yet  fragrant  with  the  odour  of  sanctity. 

Among  these  not  a  few  have  left  us  within  the  last  few  years 
and  to  their  happy  number  God  has  added  two  during  the  past 
year,  to  whom  for  our  argument  sake,  and  the  benefit  of  the 


36  THE  TIJACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

living,  and  the  glory  of  God  displayed  in  their  lives  and  deaths, 
some  allusion  is  due.  One  of  these  was  a  mother  in  Israel  in 
one  of  our  churches — who  united  with  its  first  worshippers, 
watched  with  interest  every  step  in  its  progress,  celebrated  its 
dedication,  became  by  public  profession  a  member  of  it  Feb- 
ruary, 1812 — has  ever  since,  for  almost  forty-five  years,  con- 
tinued an  humble,  holy,  consistent,  and  zealous  disciple,  ever 
ready  to  co-operate  in  any  good  work,  and  never  more  happy 
than  when  the  ways  of  her  beloved  Zion  prospered,  and  when 
its  children,  and  children's  children  were  seen  entering  into 
covenant  with  their  fathers'  God,  making  His  church  their 
home,  and  His  service  their  delight.  To  her,  as  to  many,  the 
very  walls  and  stones  and  surrounding  trees  and  cemetery, 
were  dear  and  sacred.  And  for  years  past,  when  growing 
deafness  prevented  her  from  uniting  in  the  service,  she  was 
still  as  desirous  as  ever  to  be  present  among  us,  to  commune 
with  us  in  spirit,  and  in  the  silent  meditations  of  her  heart, 
often  visible  in  the  movements  of  her  lips  and  the  upward 
glancing  of  her  eye — worship  Him  who  seeth  in  secret,  in  spirit 
and  in  truth. 

Of  Mrs.  Adger  we  may  truly  say,  that  no  one  ever  knew  her 
who  did  not  love  her,  and  feel  attracted  by  her  gentle,  loving, 
and  generous  nature.  With  this  she  combined  in  rare  union, 
firmness,  wisdom,  and  good  understanding,  by  which  she  was 
enabled,  with  divine  assistance  and  blessing,  to  attach  and  yet 
to  govern,  to  melt  and  at  the  same  time  mould  the  character 
of  her  nine  children,  eight  of  whom  lived  to  mature  age ;  one 
of  whom  is  a  herald  of  the  cross,  another  of  whom  was  "the 
beloved  elder,"  another  of  whom  occupies  his  place,  of  whom 
all  have  been  long  fellow-members  with  her  in  the  church,  and 
were  around  her  bed-side,  day  and  night  during  the  four  weeks 
of  her  gradual  sinking  into  the  sleep  of  death,  and  to  every  one 
of  whom  she  is  now  a  presence  and  a  power,  an  atmosphere 
of  love,  a  magnetic  centre  of  irresistible  attraction,  and  a 
fountain  of  sweet  memories  and  blissful  hopes. 

Though  it  was  not  our  privilege  to  be  with  her  and  them,  in 
these  weeks  of  wasting  weariness  to  her  decaying  body,  but  of 
peace  and  quietness  and  assurance  to  her  calm  and  heavenly 
spirit,  we  were  permitted  to  receive  with  others,  her  dying 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  37 

farewell,  and  to  rejoice  in  spirit  with  her  and  those  around 
her,  that  through  the  loving  kindness  of  her  God  and  Saviour, 
death  was  to  her  gain,  and  the  grave  a  blessed  rest,  where  she 
awaits  in  hope  the  glory  of  God,  that  her  last  end  was  peace, 
and  that  she  finished  her  course  with  joy. 

She  has  left  behind  her  the  companion  of  fifty  years  to  whom 
by  her  combination  of  attractive  powers,  meekness,  sweet  com- 
pliance, and  tender  persuasion,  she  has  been  indeed  a  help  meet 
for  him,  to  whom  from  behind  the  curtain  of  death  she  still 
stretches  out  the  hand  of  love  saying,  yet  a  little  while  and 
where  I  am  you  shall  also  be.  Be  thou  also  faithful  unto  death 
and  thou  shalt  receive  with  me  a  crown  of  life. 

"Never  couldst  thou  bear  to  grieve  us — 
Dearest  mother,  why  to-day? 
Wherefore  wilt  thou  thus  forsake  us, 
Why,    oh!    why   refuse   to   stay?" 
"Were  it  but  our  Father's  will, 
Gladly  had  I  tarried  still." 

"Mother,  see  the  bursting  anguish 
Of  thy  dear  ones,  loved  so  well  ; 
See  our  eyes  with  grief  o'erflowing — 
Grief  which  words  refuse  to  tell!" 
"Children,  bid  me  not  remain  : 
Let  me  with  my  Lord  remain  !" 

"Ah  !  and  art  thou  really  going 

To  that  dark  and  distant  shore? 
All  our  cares,  our  joys,  our  sorrows, 
All  forgotten,  shared  no  more  !" 
"Children,  think  not,  say  not  so — 
To  the  land  of  love  I  go." 

"From  the  circle  of  affection, 

Mother,  must  thou  next  depart? 
Ah  !  how  many  a  link  is  broken 
Once  uniting  heart  to  heart !" 
"Closer  draw   that  gentle  chain 
Round  the  lov'd  who  yet  remain." 

"Canst  thou  then  so  gladly  leave  us  ? 
Is  our  grief  unheeded  now? 
For  thine  eye  is  brightly  beaming. 
Calm  and  cloudless  is  thy  brow." 
"Yes !  for  faith,  and  hope,  and  love, 
Draw  me  to  my  Lord  above." 

"Yet  even  there,  in  bliss  undying, 
When  thou   numberest   thine  own, 
Mother,  shall  not  we  be  wanting — 
We  who  here  in  bondage  groan  ?" 
"Come,  beloved  !   quickly  come. 
Join  me  in  our  heavenly  home  !" 

To  the  name  of  Mrs.  Adger  has  been  added  that  of  another 
mother  in  Israel,  Mrs.  Leland,  consort  of  Rev.  A.  W.  Leland, 


38  TH^  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

D.  D.,  who  has  recently  passed  from  among  us  at  a  well 
advanced,  though  not  an  old  age. 

"The  latter  part  of  her  life  was  passed  in  Columbia,  in  the 
quiet  discharge  of  her  appropriate  duties.  She  walked  in  all 
the  commandments  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord,  as  blamelessly 
as  one  may  walk  who  is  subject  to  the  infirmities  of  human 
nature,  and  has  not  yet  arrived  at  the  perfection  of  the 
heavenly  state.  Her  life  was  a  practical  exposition  of  the 
doctrines  and  precepts  of  the  Gospel ;  one  of  those  living  argu- 
ments for  the  reality  of  the  Christian  Religion  which  no  Skep- 
ticism has  ever  met,  and  in  the  presence  of  which  the  confi- 
dence of  Infidelity  itself  is  shaken.  The  holiness  of  the 
Gospel — a  holiness  which  no  earthly  system  of  Philosophy,  and 
no  human  education  ever  produced- — was  the  pervading  state 
of  her  soul,  and  the  fruits  of  holiness  hung  in  golden  clusters 
about  her  character,  and  illustrated  it  in  the  eyes  of  all 
beholders.  To  her,  the  name  of  Jesus  was  the  symbol  of  all 
that  is  lovely,  and  all  that  is  glorious.  Her  love  of  Christ  was 
not  a  mere  sentiment;  it  was  a  passion.  His  name  was  as 
ointment  poured  forth,  which  perfumed  and  enriched  the 
smallest  offices  of  life.  Seldom  did  she  pen  a  letter  or  a  note 
in  which  there  was  not  "aliquid  Christi,"  a  sweet  savour  of 
Christ,  which  hallowed  her  counsels,  and  imparted  the  spirit  of 
His  Religion,  and  the  dignity  of  His  name  to  the  minutest 
details  of  domestic  life.  She  has  gone  to  behold  Him  "whom 
having  not  seen  she  loved ;"  to  "look  upon  that  head  which  was 
crowned  with  thorns,  and  that  face  which  was  spit  upon  for 
her." 

"Another  conspicuous  feature  of  her  character  was,  a  faith 
in  the  special  providence  of  God,  and  in  the  promises  of  the 
everlasting  Covenant,  which  no  vicissitudes  of  life,  no  shocks 
of  affliction,  and  no  tempest  of  cares  could  shake.  It  rendered 
her  calm  when  others  were  perplexed,  and  peaceful,  when 
others  ewre  disturbed.  And  hence  she  was  enabled  to  main- 
tain a  tranquil  equanimity  amid  all  the  changes  of  her  earthly 
circumstances.  She  seemed  to  lean,  with  the  most  perfect 
repose,  upon  that  "righteous,  omnipotent  Hand,"  which  had 
upheld  and  guided  her  through  all  her  pilgrimage.  Thus, 
though  subject  to  often  infirmities  and  sickness  of  body,  she 


THi;  te;achings  o^  the  dj^ad.  39 

became  a  stay  for  others;  a  pillar  of  support,  and  a  minister 
of  consolation  to  her  family  and  friends.  She  has  received 
the  end  of  her  faith,  and  now  enjoys  the  rest  which  remaineth 
for  the  people  of  God;  but,  alas,  the  pillar  of  support  has 
crumbled  to  dust,  the  stafif  of  strength  is  broken,  the  minister- 
ing angel  is  gone ;  and  naught  of  her  remains  but  the  precious 
legacy  of  her  example ;  the  fadeless  memory  of  her  love ;  and 
the  mute  and  touching  memorials  of  a  departed  wife  and 
mother. 

"But  the  element  of  character  which  chiefly  distinguished 
her,  was  her  unselfish  and  untiring  devotion  to  interests  and 
comforts  of  others,  especially  her  family  and  friends,  and  as  a 
consequent,  a  most  fervent  spirit  of  intercessory  prayer.  In 
serving  others,  she  seemed  to  forget  herself.  It  mattered  little 
that  she  was  sick,  if  others  were  well ;  if  her  rest  was  broken, 
that  theirs  might  be  enjoyed;  the  midnight  hour  was  frequently 
passed  while  she  toiled  for  their  comfort ;  and  how  often  did 
she  prevent  the  dawning  light,  that  the  stranger,  who  had 
lodged  within  her  gates,  or  the  friend,  who  had  slept  under  her 
roof,  might  be  refreshed  for  early  travel,  and  receive  her  part- 
ing words  of  kindness  and  affection.  The  poor  and  friendless 
student  for  the  ministry  was  ever  welcome  to  her  hospitable 
board  and  fireside,  and  received  from  her  the  sympathy  of  a 
mother  and  a  friend.  The  needy  and  the  destitute  found  her 
door  open  to  them,  and  her  hand  of  charity  extended  for  their 
relief.  Her  domestics  were  treated  rather  as  children,  than 
as  servants;  as  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  she  contracted  her 
last  illness  from  exposure  and  fatigue,  undergone  while  nurs- 
ing one  of  them  in  sickness.  But  who  may  describe  the  watch- 
ful assiduity,  the  exhaustive  patience,  and  the  tender  and 
yearning  affection  with  which  she  ever  ministered  to  the  tem- 
poral and  spiritual  wants  of  her  beloved  husband  and  children. 
"In  all  their  affliction,  she  was  afflicted,"  and  all  their  joys  were 
enhanced  by  the  fact  that  she  shared  them.  It  was  such  a  love 
as  this  which  formed  the  source  of  appeal  from  which  a  cove- 
nant-keeping God  has  drawn,  in  order  to  illustrate  His  own 
unchanging  affection  for  His  people.  "Can  a  woman  forget 
her  sucking  child,  that  she  should  not  have  compassion  on  the 
son  of  her  womb  ?" 


40  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

"Before  closing  this  long  letter,"  says  her  bereaved  husband, 
"I  feel  it  my  ditty  to  record  my  solemn  testimony,  as  to  some 
facts  and  traits  of  character,  which  distinguished  my  beloved 
wife,  and  which  are  fully  known  to  myself  alone.  I  do  not 
make  these  statements  to  her  praise,  from  any  vain-glorious 
reference  to  her  connection  with  me ;  for  alas,  that  connection, 
however  endearing  and  ennobling,  has  ceased  forever.  "Hinc 
illae  lachrymae."  But  these  graces  of  the  Spirit  should  be 
known  below  to  the  praise  of  God's  glorious  grace,  as  they  will 
be  proclaimed  above  for  the  same  purpose. 

"I  mention  first,  an  utter  forgetfulness  of  self,  and  an 
unremitting  zeal  for  the  good  of  others.  In  more  than  forty 
years  I  have  never  seen  an  indication  of  any  regard  to  self- 
interest  or  self-indulgence.  She  lived  for  others,  and  found 
her  happiness  in  their  enjoyment.  Another  remarkable  trait 
was  a  most  generous  liberality  towards  all  around  her,  united 
with  a  rigid  economy  towards  herself.  All  her  resources  were 
lavishly  bestowed  to  aid  and  comfort  all  within  her  reach,  while 
it  was  difficult  to  persuade  her  to  supply  her  own  necessities. 
Habitually  she  withheld  the  price  of  her  own  comforts,  to 
bestow  it  upon  the  needy.  Untiring  laboriousness  in  duty  was 
another  striking  characteristic.  In  the  domestic  offices  of  her 
large  family,  her  diligence  and  efficiency  were  almost  unex- 
ampled. And  yet  at  the  close  of  every  busy  day,  she  devoted 
her  hours  often  until  midnight,  to  reading,  writing  and  devo- 
tion. In  these  seasons  of  quiet  and  solitude,  as  one  instance  of 
her  devotional  reading,  she  read  all  the  volumes  of  Scott's 
Commentary  thrice  through  in  course,  and  had  begun  the 
fourth  perusal,  when  she  was  called  away  to  nobler  employ- 
ments. She  composed  four  volumes  of  a  closely  written  Diary 
or  Journal,  for  the  guidance  of  her  children  after  her  decease ; 
and  for  several  years  she  wrote  more  than  four  hundred  letters 
of  affectionate  counsel  each  year,  to  her  absent  children.  Of 
her  heavenly  intercourse  and  communion  at  a  throne  of  grace, 
the  record  is  on  high.  Most  of  these  works  were  done  in  the 
hours  of  night.  Her  devoted  love  to  her  children  was  marked 
by  one  leading  feature.  Their  spiritual  interests,  the  safety 
of  their  souls,  so  engrossed  her  solicitude,  that  she  hardly 
regarded  anything  else.     As  to  her  Christian  character,  her 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  41 

spirituality  and  heavenly  mindedness,  I  am  utterly  unable  to 
express  my  honest  convictions.  I  will  only  say  that  a  spotless 
Purity  of  heart  and  motive,  Kindness  in  feeling  and  action, 
Benevolence  in  its  most  exalted  exercise,  pervaded  and  gov- 
erned her  whole  soul.  But  while  her  experience  of  the  sancti- 
fying power  of  Divine  grace  was  so  remarkable,  she  was  no 
less  distinguished  for  a  low  estimation  of  her  own  attainments, 
and  a  profound  humility  which  prostrated  her  continually  at 
the  footstool  of  mercy,  as  the  chief  of  sinners.  A  thought  of 
any  other  position  or  claim  never  seemed  to  have  entered  her 
mind. 

"Equally  distinguished  was  my  blessed  wife  for  her  kindness 
and  charity  to  the  poor  and  the  afflicted.  To  her  truly  belonged 
the  title  which  the  Roman  Pontiff  arrogantly  assumed,  servus 
servormn.  For  the  relief  and  comfort  of  servants,  not  only 
in  her  own  family,  but  in  others,  much  of  her  daily  attention, 
care  and  toil,  was  sacredly  devoted.  And  the  sad  event  was 
in  unison  with  her  constant  habit,  when  her  mortal  sickness 
was  caused  by  a  night  exposure,  during  extreme  cold  weather, 
in  attendance  upon  the  sick  couch  of  a  servant  woman;  and 
this,  with  the  distinctly  expressed  apprehension  that  the  effect 
might  be  fatal. 

I  must  add  one  more  particular.  Whatever  money  she 
received,  she  never  thought  of  using  a  shilling  for  her  own 
comfort,  till  all  the  benevolent  subscriptions  were  paid,  and  all 
the  claims  upon  her  private  charity  were  fully  met.  I  often 
thought  she  carried  this  too  far,  but  I  now  see  that  she  was 
wisely  making  an  investment,  which  she  now  enjoys.  A  few 
days  before  her  decease,  she  received  her  last  payment  of 
money,  and  before  the  sun  went  down  half  of  the  amount  was 
given  away." 

In  concluding  his  circular  letter  Dr.  Leland  records  the  fol- 
lowing remarkable  dream  which  Mrs.  L.  had  about  fifteen 
years  ago,  making  a  very  deep  impression  at  the  time,  and  pre- 
served in  most  vivid  recollection  to  the  last.  While  she  did 
not  believe  in  any  supernatural  influence  in  the  case,  she  had 
an  invincible  persuasion  that  the  solemn  and  scriptural  direc- 
tions and  encouragements  which  seemed  to  be  addressed  to 
her  by  a  messenger  from  the  world  of  spirits,  demanded  her 


42  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

most  special  regard.  And  it  is  certain,  that  those  imaginary 
communications  did  exert  a  mighty  influence  upon  her  subse- 
quent conduct. 

It  should  be  stated,  that  at  the  time  of  this  dream,  she  was 
surrounded  by  nine  sons  and  daughters,  in  childhood  and  early 
youth,  whose  moral  perils  and  exposure  to  evil  examples  filled 
her  anxious,  loving  heart  with  intense  solicitude  and  apprehen- 
sions. 

She  dreamed  that  she  was  wandering  on  the  seashore,  where 
the  retiring  tide  had  left  a  wide  expanse  of  the  beach  only  par- 
tially covered  with  water.  At  some  distance  from  the  sand  on 
which  she  stood,  she  seemed  to  see  a  land  turtle,  surrounded  by 
a  group  of  her  young,  making  her  way  to  the  dry  land.  The 
animal  appeared  distressed  in  guarding  her  little  ones,  which 
were  continually  straying  from  her,  and  running  into  danger. 
Sometimes  she  would  have  to  cross  a  rivulet  so  deep  that  she 
could  only  secure  her  charge  by  taking  them  upon  her  back, 
and  bearing  them  through,  though  she  sometimes  sunk  out  of 
sight  with  her  burden.  At  length,  however,  after  long  toiling 
and  most  anxious  struggles,  she  seemed  to  reach  the  safe,  dry 
sand,  with  all  her  little  charge.  At  this  moment  the  dreamer 
seemed  to  behold  at  her  side  her  own  sainted  mother,  who  had 
been  in  Heaven  for  ten  years,  and  to  hear  from  her  lips  such 
words  as  these ;  words  never  to  be  forgotten,  and  never  remem- 
bered without  profound  emotion.  "My  child,  you  see  there  a 
mother,  and  a  fit  emblem  of  yourself.  You  have  marked  the 
care  and  toil,  the  ceaseless  watchfulness  and  distressed  anxiety 
of  that  poor  animal,  to  preserve  her  helpless  brood ;  and  after 
all  her  fears  and  terrors  in  guarding  and  guiding  them,  you 
have  witnessed  the  success  which  has  crowned  her  strivings  to 
conduct  them  to  a  place  of  safety.  Regard  this,  my  daughter, 
as  indicating  your  own  difficulties,  responsibilities  and  obliga- 
tions. To  your  charge  are  committed  the  precious  immortal 
interests  of  all  your  thoughtless,  perishing  children.  Under 
God,  their  salvation  depends  greatly  upon  yourself.  O,  make 
it  your  one  great  business,  to  watch  over  their  precious  souls. 
Pray  without  ceasing,  and  labour  without  intermission,  for 
their  conversion.  Imitate  the  example  of  this  poor  turtle,  and 
you  may  hope,  like  her,  to  rejoice  in  the  consummation  of  your 


THE  te;achings  of  the  dead.  43 

hopes,  in  seeing  your  children  safe  at  the  Saviour's  feet." 
Such  was  this  memorable  dream.  And  its  effects  were  equally 
memorable.  Previously,  my  dear  wife  had  exhibited  more 
than  ordinary  devotedness  to  maternal  duties ;  but  afterwards, 
she  cherished  a  severe  conviction  that  "she  had  one  thing  to 
do,"  and  that  was  to  devote  her  undivided  energies,  her  time, 
her  efforts,  her  whole  soul,  to  the  spiritual  good  of  those  who 
called  her  mother.  She  felt  as  if  a  message  had  come  to  her 
from  the  spiritual  world,  and  the  consequent  obligation  pressed 
upon  her  continually.  And  nobly  and  gloriously  did  she  obey 
the  mandate.  I  never  witnessed,  and  never  expected  to  wit- 
ness such  devotedness,  such  entire  consecration.  This  object 
governed  her  conduct  by  day,  and  was  the  inspiring  motive 
of  her  habitual  midnight  studies  and  labours.  She  desired  to 
live  only  that  she  might  bless  her  household.  She  sought  no 
repose,  no  cessation  in  the  strenuous  exertion  of  all  her  powers, 
in  the  work  assigned  to  her.  Nor  was  she  left  without 
precious  tokens  of  divine  favour.  She  had  the  unutterable  joy 
to  see  blessed  fruits  of  her  prayers  and  tears.  Successively 
her  beloved  children  gave  hopeful  evidence  of  vital  piety,  and 
were  received  into  the  communion  of  the  church.  At  length, 
her  wrestling  at  a  throne  of  grace,  for  her  youngest  son, 
seemed  to  have  prevailed.  And  when  the  tidings  reached  her 
from  a  distant  State,  that  he  had  hopefully  become  a  subject 
of  grace,  she  evinced  a  rapture  of  joy  wholly  unusual  to  her, 
and  instantly  wrote,  in  one  of  the  last  letters  she  ever  penned, 
my  zvork  is  done;  feeling  evidently  that  she  had  nothing  to  do 
but  to  die. 

"Her  body  was  taken  to  the  town  of  Mount  Pleasant,  where 
she  had  passed  her  early  days.  The  funeral  service  was 
attended  by  the  friends  of  her  youth ;  and  her  remains,  accom- 
panied by  her  family  and  some  of  her  friends,  were  borne  to 
the  burial  ground,  about  seven  miles  from  the  town,  called 
"Cook's  Field."  There,  according  to  her  own  wish,  beside  the 
graves  of  her  beloved  parents;  remote  from  the  bustle  of  life; 
in  the  silent  forest ;  and  amid  the  tears  of  her  kindred,  her 
precious  dust  was  committed  to  its  final  resting  place.  Fit 
spot  for  the  last  sleep  of  the  saint,  whose  life  had  been  gentle- 
ness, and  whose  end  was  peace !     No  rude  foot  will  tread  upon 


44  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

her  grave ;  the  morning-  and  the  evening  dew  will  fall  upon  it ; 
and  the  sweet  voices  of  nature,  in  this  still  retreat,  will  hymn 
her  gentle  requiem.  Many  bodies  of  Christ's  dear  people  there 
rest  in  death — a  goodly  company.  The  sacred  spot  has  been 
further  signalized  and  hallowed,  by  receiving  the  dust  of  this 
noble  and  excellent  mother  in  Israel;  and  not  the  least  among 
those  who  shall  there  rise  at  the  sound  of  the  archangel's 
trump,  and  the  call  of  the  descending  Saviour,  will  stand  the 
glorified  form  of  our  departed  friend. 

It  was  truly  affecting  to  see  her  venerable  partner,  who,  like 
Abraham,  bearing  the  body  of  his  illustrious  wife  to  the  field 
of  Machpelah,  had  come  with  his  dead,  to  this  quiet  spot,  to 
discharge  for  her  the  last  mournful  offices  of  affection.  The 
light  of  his  dwelling  has  been  extinguished ;  the  prop  of  his 
age  has  been  withdrawn ;  and  the  noble  heart  that  had  beat 
with  ineffable  love  for  him  and  his  children  is  still ;  but  may 
He,  who  has  promised  that  He  will  be  with  His  people  when 
they  "pass  through  the  waters,"  and  "walk  through  the  fire," 
and  that  "even  to  hoar  hairs,"  He  "will  carry  them,"  graciously 
comfort  and  sustain  him  under  this  sore  and  heavy  trial." 

How  precious  is  the  sacred  spot 

In  yonder  burial  ground. 
Where  my  endeared,  departed  wife, 

A  last  repose  hath  found ! 

Full  twenty  summer  suns  have  shone, 

Since  heart  and  hand  she  gave, 
And  kindly  pledged  her  love  to  me, 

Till  parted  by  the  grave. 

Alas !  these  years  have  sped  away ; 

That  happy  time  is  flown  ! 
But,  year  by  year,  her  plighted  love 

Has  sweetly  bloomed  and  grown. 

In  prosperous  times,  when  all  was  fair. 

And  comfort  reigned  the  while. 
Each  blessing  high  in  value  rose, 

Augmented  by  her  smile. 

Affliction's  stormy  winds  might  blow  ; 

And  dire  distress  portend  ; 
But  what  were  they — since  she  was  mine, 

My  loving  wife — my  friend  ? 

A  mother,  pious,  prudent,  kind, 

In  her  my  children  had  ; 
Who  made  their  cares  and  griefs  her  own. 

And  in  their  joys  was  glad. 

Her  presence  was  our  light  and  joy, 

The  blessing  of  our  store: 
But  ah  !  that  source  of  joy  is  gone. 

That  light  can  shine  no  more! 


the:  teachings  of  the  dead.  45 

We  mourn  our  loss,  and  well  we  may ; 

Our  home  is  blighted  now  ! 
Our  dearest,  kindest  friend  away ! 

But,  Lord,  to  Thee  we  bow. 

With  tender,  aching  hearts  we  bore 

Our  precious  dead  away  ; 
And  left  her  with  her  kindred  dust, 

In  hope  of  endless  day. 

Pass  on,  ye  wintry  tempests,  pass ; 

Why  linger  with  your  gloom  ? 
Go.  let  the  early  spring  flowers  rise 

To  deck  her  couch  with  bloom. 

Blow  soft ;  ye  gentle  breezes,  oh ! 

Blow  softly  cross  her  grave : 
Ye  dews  of  evening,  kindly  fall. 

As  her  lone  bed  ye  lave. 

Angelic  guardians,  watch  with  care, 

Her  peaceful,  hallowed  tomb, 
Until  that  glorious  morning  dawn. 

When  Christ,  the  Judge,  shall  come. 

Dear  wife,  thine  absence  we  deplore  ; 
Our  hearts  with  grief  are  riven  ; 
We  weep  ;  and  yet  we  should  not  weep, 
Since  thou  art  blest  in  heaven. 

We  loved  thee  with  affection  true, 

That  never  knew  decline ; 
In  weal  or  woe,  in  ease  or  pain, 

Our  warmest  love  was  thine. 

But  oh  !  we  never  prized  thee  more 

Than  since  thy  parting  breath 
Announced  our  loss,  and  made  us  feel 

The  majesty  of  death. 

Oh  !  may  we  tread  the  heavenly  path. 

Which  thou  hast  trod  before. 
And  meet  thee,  in  yon  world  of  love. 

Where  we  shall  part  no  more ! 

These,  and  other  beloved  mothers  and  sisters  in  the  Lord, 
have  recently  been  taken  from  the  church  and  their  families 
on  earth.  But  they  have  left  behind  them  their  example,  their 
life,  their  character,  their  works  and  their  death,  that  we  may 
walk  in  their  steps  and  be  stimulated  to  holy  zeal  and  heavenly 
ardour.  And  we  cannot  but  thank  and  praise  the  Lord — not 
that  they  were  taken"  from  us,  but  that  they  were  taken  at  a 
time  when  the  moral  power  of  their  example  in  life  and  in 
death,  was  so  needful.  In  them  we  have  an  illustration  of  the 
reality,  the  power,  the  benign  and  holy  influence  of  the  Gospel, 
which  all  will  admit,  and  none  can  question — a  life  and  char- 
acter and  death  for  which  only  the  Gospel  can  account.  In 
them  we  see  the  legitimate  effect  of  the  Gospel  so  far  as  it  is 
truly  received  and  sincerely  obeyed  in  purifying,  elevating  and 
perfecting  the  character.     The  failure  of  one,  or  of  a  few,  or 


46  the;  teachings  of  the;  de;ad. 

of  any  number  of  professors  to  maintain  a  practice  in  all 
things  according  to  their  profession,  and  in  conformity  to  the 
immaculate  purity  and  probity  required  by  the  Gospel,  is  there- 
fore no  valid  argument  against  the  Gospel  or  the  church  since 
it  is  in  direct  contrariety  to  the  principles  of  both.  Member- 
ship in  the  church  is  constituted  by  a  profession  of  the  Gospel. 
That  profession  is  all  of  which  either  minister  or  elders  can 
judge,  since  it  is  evident  that  a  clear  possession  of  real  piety 
is  a  fact  which  God  alone  can  certainly  discern.  The  incon- 
sistencies and  unchristian  conduct  of  members  of  the  church, 
is  only  evidence,  therefore,  so  far  as  it  goes,  of  the  insincerity 
of  their  profession,  or  the  gross  inconsistency  of  their  lives. 
It  is  no  argument  against  either  the  church  or  the  Gospel.  But 
on  the  other  hand,  every  professor  of  religion,  whose  life  and 
conversation  and  conduct  are  in  spirit,  in  purpose  and  in  con- 
stant effort,  conformed  to  the  Gospel  they  profess,  is  a  demon- 
stration of  its  truth  and  of  its  infinite  and  paramount  impor- 
tance ;  and  for  this  simple  reason,  that  while  to  act  contrary  to 
the  Gospel,  is  easy,  natural,  and  agreeable  to  the  pride  and 
selfishness  and  sensuality  of  the  heart,  to  live  in  conformity  to 
the  Gospel,  is  an  opposition  to  them  all,  a  denial  of  self,  a 
humiliation  of  pride,  a  crucifixion  of  the  flesh,  a  mortification 
of  lust,  and,  in  many  things,  an  abandonment  of  pleasure  and 
of  profit. 

Mrs.  Adger  and  Mrs.  Leland,  therefore,  being  dead,  yet 
speak.  All  those  among  us,  who,  like  them,  have  lived  and 
died  in  the  Lord,  and  all  those  still  living,  and  of  the  sincerity 
of  whose  profession  you  have  no  doubt,  speak  to  us.  They 
speak,  O,  sinner,  to  you,  and  they  tell  you  that  the  Gospel  is  a 
divine  reality,  that  it  is  life  and  power,  and  Salvation  to  them 
that  truly  believe  and  obey  it,  and  that  it  is  condemnation  and 
death,  and  everlasting  destruction  to  them  that  believe  and  obey 
it  not,  whether  they  are  professors  or  not. 

They  speak  also  to  those  who  are  professors  of  religion,  and 
they  tell  us  that  a  mere  profession  will  not  save  us,  ])ecause 
it  will  neither  justify  nor  sanctify  us.  They  tell  us  that  a  pro- 
fession made  from  worldly,  selfish,  or  ambitious  motives,  and 
used  as  a  cloak  for  covetousness,  and  hoarding  avarice,  and 
penurious  giving,  or  for  vice,  dishonesty,  or  any  other  course 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  47 

of  sin,  is  an  aggravation  of  guilt,  and  will  entail  a  deeper 
damnation.  They  tell  us  that  such  is  the  abounding  worldli- 
ness,  and  covetousness,  and  ambitious  desire  for  wealth  and 
prominence,  even  among  professors  of  religion,  that  hardly  can 
any  professor  enter  the  Kingdom  of  God,  scarcely  can  even  a 
righteous  man  be  saved,  and  that  it  becometh  even  the  oldest 
disciple,  and  the  most  honoured  elder  or  deacon,  yea,  and  the 
most  faithful  minister,  to  fear  lest  after  all  they  may  be  cast 
away,  and  to  work  out  their  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling. 
And  let  him  that  hath  ears  to  hear  heed  what  is  thus  spoken 
to  him  by  the  dead  with  whom  he  is  soon  to  stand  in  judgment. 

REJOICE. 

Rejoice,  all  ye  believers, 

And  let  your  lights  appear ; 
The  evening  is  advancing, 

And  darker  night  is  near. 
The  Bridegroom  is  arising. 

And  soon  he  draweth  nigh. 
Up !  pray,  and  watch,  and  wrestle — 

At  midnight  comes  the  cry ! 

See  that  your  lamps  are  burning, 

Replenish  them  with  oil, 
And  wait  for  your  salvation, 

The  end  of  earthly  toil. 
The  watchers  on  the  mountain 

Proclaim  the  Bridegroom  near ; 
Go,  meet  Him  as  He  cometh, 

With  Hallelujahs  clear ! 

Ye  wise  and  holy  virgins. 

Now  raise  your  voices  higher. 
Till  in  songs  of  jubilee 

They  meet  the  angel-choir. 
The  marriage  feast  is  waiting. 

The  gates  wide  open  stand ; 
Up  !  up  !  ye  heirs  of  glory — 

The  Bridegroom  is  at  hand ! 

Ye  saints,  who  here  in  patience 

Your  cross  and  suff'rings  bore, 
Shall  live  and  reign  for  ever. 

When  sorrow  is  no  more. 
Around  the  throne  of  glory, 

The  Lamb  ye  shall  behold, 
In  triumph  cast  before  Him 

Your  diadems  of  gold ! 

Palms  of  victory  are  there  ; 

There,  radiant  garments  are ; 
There  stands  the  peaceful  harvest, 

Beyond  the  reach  of  war. 
There,   after  stormy  winter. 

The  flowers  of  earth  arise. 
And  from  the  grave's  long  slumber 

Shall  meet  again  our  eyes ! 

Before  dismissing  our  readers,  there  is  one  point  on  which 
these  beloved  mothers  in  Israel,  though  dead,  yet  emphatically 


48  THE  TEACHINGS  OE  THE  DEAD. 

and  very  encouragingly  speak  to  us,  and  that  is  the  intimate 
and  divinely  appointed  connection  between  maternal  piety, 
consistency  and  gentle  loving  conduct  towards  her  husband  and 
her  children,  and  the  conversion  of  her  children,  and  the  con- 
version and  spiritual  advancement  of  her  husband. 

Of  this  principle,  the  ministry,  both  living  and  dead,  and  the 
membership  in  the  church  in  all  ages,  churches  and  countries, 
are  standing  proofs.  Mothers,  not  only  pious,  but  prudent, 
not  only  holy,  but  happy,  not  merely  gracious,  but  gentle,  not 
less  firm  than  faithful, — mothers  in  whose  heart  is  the  law  of 
love,  drawing  with  the  cords  of  a  man  the  most  reluctant 
hearts,  and  on  whose  lips  is  the  law  of  kindness  and  persuasion, 
and  in  whose  conscience  is  the  law  of  heaven's  purity,  and  in 
whose  hands  is  the  rod  of  correction,  and  the  staff  of  author- 
ity— such  women  have  ever  been  the  nursing  mothers  of  the 
church  from  the  days  of  Hannah  and  Louis  to  the  present  time, 
and  must  continue  to  be  the  hope  of  the  church,  and  of  the 
State  for  all  time  to  come. 

"There  was  once,"  says  Rev  Dr.  P.  H.  Fowler,  "an  obscure 
and  pious  woman  living  in  the  south  of  England.  History  is 
silent  respecting  her  ancestry,  her  place  of  birth,  and  her  educa- 
tion. She  had  an  only  son  whom  she  made  it  her  great  busi- 
ness to  train  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord.  In 
the  seventh  year  of  his  age,  his  mother  died,  and  a  few  years 
later  the  lad  went  to  sea,  and  engaged  at  length  as  a  sailor  in 
the  African  slave-trade.  He  was  soon  an  adept  in  vice,  and 
though  among  the  youngest  of  the  crew,  he  was  the  most  pro- 
ficient in  guilt.  But  his  mother's  instructions  sent  their  echoes 
to  him,  and  though  at  first  he  sought  to  deafen  himself  to  them, 
they  grew  louder  and  louder,  until  listening  to  them  at  last,  he 
became  a  fervent  Christian,  a  successful  preacher,  the  author 
of  books  which  the  church  will  never  let  die,  and  a  writer  of 
hymns  the  use  of  which  is  co-extensive  with  our  tongue 

"This  wayward  son  whom  his  mother,  though  dead, 
addressed  and  reclaimed,  was  the  means  of  the  conversion  of 
Claudius  Buchanan,  so  distinguished  for  his  labors  in  the  East 
Indies;  and  the  'Star  in  the  East,'  a  book  published  by  Mr. 
Buchanan,  first  called  the  attention  of  our  Judson  to  the  mis- 
sionary work,  and  sent  him  an  apostle  to  Burmah. 


the;  teachings  of  the  dead.  49 

"The  sailor,  turned  preacher,  was  also  the  means  of  deliver- 
ing the  Rev  Thomas  Scott  from  the  mazes  of  ruinous  error, 
and  introducing  him  to  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life.  Mr. 
Scott  prepared  the  Commentary  known  by  his  name,  and  which 
still  continues  its  mission  of  converting  and  sanctifying  power. 

"The  influence  of  this  same  minister  and  author,  in  connec- 
tion with  that  of  Doddridge,  was  principally  instrumental  in 
making  VVilberforce  the  Christian  he  was.  To  Wilberforce's 
'Practical  View  of  Christianity,'  the  conversion  of  Legh  Rich- 
mond may  be  ascribed,  and  Legh  Richmond  wrote  'The  Dairy- 
man's Daughter,'  and  other  tracts,  which  have  contributed  to 
the  salvation  of  thousands  of  souls. 

"vSuch  are  some  of  the  results  of  that  voice  from  the  dead 
which  spoke  to  John  Newton ;  and  what  a  small  portion  of  the 
whole  sum  has  yet  been  revealed !" 

A  young  man  of  Virginia,  in  the  joyous  flush  of  youth,  and 
all  the  vigor  and  promise  of  life's  morning,  was  as  in  a  moment 
laid  low,  and  a  minister,  who  only  knew  that  the  young  man 
had  been  sceptically  inclined,  was  sent  for.  The  minister 
entered  the  chamber  apprehending  a  mournful  scene  of  unpre- 
paredness  for  the  solemn  change ;  but  to  his  surprise  and  joy, 
he  saw  the  countenance  of  the  dying  man  lighted  up  with  that 
celestial  radiance  which  naught  but  a  well-founded  hope  in 
Christ  can  impart  to  the  last  trying  scene.  He  drew  near,  and 
tenderly  inquired  whether  or  not  he  felt  ready  and  willing  to 
depart,  if  such  should  be  the  Divine  Will. 

"Oh,  yes,"  exclaimed  the  dying  man;  "for  me  to  die  is  gain; 
I  long  to  depart  and  be  with  Christ."  The  minister  inquired 
how  long  this  blessed  hope  had  been  his,  and  to  what  instru- 
mentality he  referred  this  happy  change  in  his  views  and  char- 
acter. 

"It  was  only  a  few  days  before  I  was  taken  sick  that  I  was 
brought  to  submit  entirely  to  Christ,"  said  the  young  man ; 
"and  I  owe  it  all,  under  God  to  my  sainted  mother's  prayers, 
and  her  godly  life.  While  in  college,  I  imbibed,  from  corrupt 
associates,  their  sceptical  views,  learned  to  doubt  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  Bible,  and  stumbled  at  many  of  the  doctrines  of 
revealed  religion,  because  I  could  not,  with  an  unrenewed 
nature  and  a  heart  at  enmity  with  God,  comprehend  them.    But 

4— Vol.  X. 


50  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE)  DEAD. 

while  thus  setting  at  naught  God's  holy  word,  and  the  message 
of  his  servants,  there  was  one  thing  I  could  not  get  over,  and 
that  was,  my  mother's  holy  life,  a  constant,  living,  breathing 
epitome  of  the  religion  she  professed,  which  to  my  inmost  soul 
whispered  a  refutation  of  all  my  scepticism.  One  thing  was 
ever  ringing  in  my  ears  and  setting  at  naught  all  my  argu- 
ments against  Christianity — the  memory  of  my  mother's 
prayers  for  her  prodigal  son.  I  tried  again  and  again  to  put 
them  from  me,  but  they  would  be  heard ;  and  at  last,  unable 
to  continue  the  conflict  longer,  I  was  brought  in  humble  peni- 
tence to  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  there  found  peace  and  joy  in 
believing  in  Him." 

Christian  mother,  are  your  prayers  the  best  refutation  of 
your  son's  scepticism?  Is  your  life  a  living,  breathing  epitome 
of  the  gospel  you  profess?  The  weal  or  woe,  for  time  and  for 
eternity,  of  those  you  love,  may  hang  upon  you.  Your  faith- 
fulness may  elevate  them  to  heaven,  place  a  crown  of  glory 
upon  their  heads,  and  a  tuneful  harp  in  their  hands,  with  which 
to  swell  Emmanuel's  praise  to  all  eternity;  or  your  inconsist- 
ency and  heartlessness  may  send  them  down  to  the  blackness 
of  dark  despair,  "where  there  is  weeping  and  wailing  and 
gnashing  of  teeth." 

Oh,  let  mothers  hear  and  heed  the  teachings  of  the  dead,  and 
then  may  they  hope  when  surrounded  by  their  weeping  chil- 
dren as  they  gather  into  her  dying  chamber  to  comfort  and 
soothe  their  latter  hours,  saying  unto  them 

What  mean  ye  by  this  wailing, 

To  break  my  bleeding  heart  ? 
And  if  the  love  that  binds  us 

Could  alter  or  depart ! 
Our  sweet  and  holy  union 

Knows  neither  time  nor  place, 
The  love  that  God  has  planted 

Is  lasting  as  His  grace. 

Ye  clasp  these  hands  at  parting, 

As  if  no  hope  could  be ; 
While  still  we  stand  forever 

In  blessed  unity ! 
Ye  gaze  as  on  a  vision 

Ye  never  could  recall. 
While  still  each  thought  is  with  you, 

And  Jesus  with  us  all ! 

Ye  say,  "We  hear,  that  yonder, 

Thou  goest,  and  we  stay ! 
And  yet  Christ's  mystic  body 

Is  one  eternally. 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  51 

Ye  speak  of  different  journeys, 

A  long  and  sad  adieu  ! 
While  still  one  way  I  travel, 

And  have  one  end  with  you. 

Why  should  ye  now  be  weeping 

These  agonizing  tears? 
Behold  our  gracious   Leader, 

And  cast  away  your  fears. 
We  tread  one  path  to  glory. 

Are  guided  by  one  hand. 
And  led  in  faith  and  patience 

Unto  one  Fatherland ! 

Then  let  this  hour  of  parting 

No  bitter  grief  record. 
But  be  an  hour  of  union 

More  blessed  with  our  Lord ! 
With  Him  to  guide  and  save  us. 

No  changes  that  await. 
No  earthly  separations 

Can  leave  us  desolate  ! 

Let  US  all  listen  to  the  teachings  of  the  dead,  and  then  shall 
the  dead  be  still  ours  and  we  theirs,  and  heaven  our  common 
and  eternal  home. 

Meet  again !  yes,  we  shall  meet  again. 
Though  now  we  part  in  pain. 

His  people  all 

Together  Christ  shall  call. 

Hallelujah! 

Soon  the  days  of  absence  shall  be  o'er, 
And  thou  shalt  weep  no  more  ; 

Our  meeting  day 

Shall  wipe  all  tears  away. 

Hallelujah! 

Now  I  go  with  gladness  to  our  home, 
W^ith  gladness  thou  shalt  come  ; 

There  I  will  wait 

To  meet  thee  at  Heaven's  gate. 
Hallelujah  ! 

Dearest !  what  delight  again  to  share 
Our  sweet  communion  there ! 

To  walk  among 

The  holy  ransomed  throng. 

Hallelujah  ! 

Here,  in  many  a  grief,  our  hearts  were  one. 
But  there  in  joys  alone  ; 

Joy  fading  never, 

Increasing,  deepening,  ever. 

Hallelujah! 

Not  to  mortal  sight  can  it  be  given 
To  know  the  bliss  of  Heaven  ; 

But  thou  shalt  be 

Soon  there,  and  sing  with  me. 

Hallelujah ! 

Meet  again  !  yes,  we  shall  meet  again, 
Though  now  we  part  in  pain  ! 

Together  all 

His  people  Christ  shall  call. 

Hallelujah! 


HEAVENLY  RECOLLECTIONS. 


'"Can   friendship,   with   the  thousand  joys, 
Our  hearts  so  fondly  cherish, 
Be  only  born  to  pass  away, 

When  our  clay  fonns  shall  perish  ?" 

There  is  but  one  communion  of  saints,  and  that  can  never 
be  dissevered;  for  as  neither  hfe  nor  death  can  separate  from 
Christ,  so  His  children  are  forever  united  in  Him.  There  is 
an  intimate  fellowship  between  those  "starlike  ones  who  bend 
in  bliss  before  the  sapphire  throne  forevermore,"  and  the 
redeemed  below  who  are  hastening  to  join  them.  All  that  was 
spiritual  in  our  intercourse  with  our  departed  friends  survives 
the  shock  of  death,  and  as  the  influence  of  spirit  upon  spirit 
is  not  dependent  upon  a  bodily  medium,  that  intercourse  may 
yet  subsist  unseen,  and  on  their  part  may  be  exerted  with  even 
greater  facility.  It  cannot  detract  from  their  enjoyment  of 
God's  presence  to  watch  over  us,  for  that  presence  pervades 
all  space.  They  are  not  separated  from  Him  while  on  their 
missions  of  love,  and  where  He  is,  and  in  His  service,  there  is 
heaven.  It  is  not  irrational  to  believe  ourselves  day  and  night 
guarded  by  the  sainted  dead — to  feel  that  in  hours  of  heavy 
affliction,  of  mournful  doubt,  of  sad  perplexity,  they  minister 
to  our  wants,  and  secretly  and  silently  "charm  away  pain  from 
the  sick  soul  and  the  world-weary  brain." 

The  strong  yearnings  of  the  heart  to  be  loved  and  remem- 
bered by  its  lost  ones  is  no  small  proof  that  such  companion- 
ship may  exist. 

Is  it  objected  that  if  the  saints  have  knowledge  of  earthly 
aflfairs,  they  must  be  grieved  oftentimes  by  the  waywardness 
and  guilt  of  their  friends,  and  thus  their  happiness  be  marred. 
I  answer  that  we  are  not  to  regulate  their  present  feelings  by 
our  earthly  standard.  Their  natures  are  now  wholly  renewed 
in  the  image  of  the  Divme;  their  wills  swallowed  up  in  God's; 
they  see  as  He  sees.  All  traces  of  this  twilight,  elementary 
stage  of  being  have  passed  away,  and  they  can  now  view  our 
transgressions  without  pain,  even  as  God  beholds  the  sin  and 
misery  of  earth  with  no  disturbance  of  His  eternal  tranquility. 


THE  TEACHINGS  OE  THE  DEAD.  53 

He  is  infinitely  pure,  holy  and  happy  in  Himself.  They  are  so 
in  Him,  and  thus  their  peace  cannot  be  broken. 

"But,"  says  one,  *'if  they  know  and  love  us,  must  not  the 
spirits  of  departed  friends  be  distressed  by  the  sight  of  trials 
into  which  we  are  plunged,  and  their  bliss  be  thereby 
impaired?"  No,  their  sympathy  is  hallowed  from  such  feel- 
ings, and  is  one  with  that  of  the  Saviour. 

Once  "Jesus  wept,"  and  we  are  assured  that  nozv  He  is 
touched  zvith  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities,  but  this  tender 
interest  docs  not  lessen  one  bright  beam  of  the  radiant  sweet- 
ness and  glory  that  crown  His  brow.  His  felicity  is  unmingled. 
Thus  may  our  loved  ones  contemplate  our  sufiferings.  They 
have  passed  through  the  same,  they  know  what  was  the  mean- 
ing and  the  eternal  issue  of  those  afflictions  which,  to  their 
earthly  vision,  were  inscrutable,  and  seeing  perhaps  that  ours 
shall  work  out  for  us  a  "far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight 
of  glory,"  they  cheerfully  acquiesce  therein,  and  with  holy 
fondness  hover  around  us,  perchance  imbibing  our  spirits  with 
some  gentle  breathings  of  their  own  calm  hope  and  confidence. 

A  dying  Christian  mother  once  said  to  her  daughter,  who 
stood  overwhelmed  with  grief  beside  her  bed,  "I  never  want 
my  children  to  think  of  me  as  gone.  You  cannot  take  a  step 
within  our  dwelling,  you  cannot  look  upon  the  flowers  your 
mother  loved  so  well,  without  thinking  of  her.  Then  think 
too  that  I  may  be  near  you.  Perhaps  God  will  permit  me  to 
return  as  a  guardian  spirit  and  watch  over  your  welfare." 
That  precious  mother  passed  away  to  her  everlasting  reward, 
and  as  her  child,  on  the  sad  day  that  separated  them  by  the 
inexorable  grave,  took  a  last  lingering  anguished  gaze  at  the 
dear  face  whose  smile  had  been  all  the  world  to  her,  the 
heavenly  peace  that  stamped  each  fair  lineament,  and  rested  on 
the  noble  brow,  reminded  her  of  the  words  of  the  departed, 
and  a  hope  sprung  up  that  the  separation  might  not  be  total ; 
that  though  her  coming  years  must  be  darkened  by  the  sorest 
want  a  human  heart  can  know — of  a  mother's  felt  and  present 
love,  a  mother's  living  sympathy — yet  still  that  mother  might 
be  near,  still  guard  with  holiest  care  her  sorrowing  child. 

The  hope  grew  and  flourished  until  it  became  belief,  nour- 
ished in  its  lonely  beauty  with  a  tenacity  born  of  deep  sorrow. 


5-t  the;  teachings  oi^  the  dead. 

"THE  MEMORY  OF  THE  JUST  IS  BLESSED." 

Proverbs:  10th.  7th. 

The  Departed  !  the   Departed  !   the  Beautiful !   the  Blest ! 

(O'er-past  the  pang  of  parting)    how  peacefully  they  rest ; — 

Where  pain,  and  disappointment,  and  care  can  never  come, — 

Where  the  "wicked  cease  from  troubling,"  and  the  weary  are  at  home ! 

The  Departed  !  the  Departed !   how  we  missed  their  voice  and  step  ! 
And  in  the  stifling  silence,   o'er  each  hoarded  relic  wept ! 
How  we  sought  to  trace  their  semblance  in  the  light  clouds  floating  by, 
And  watched  the  falling  embers  for  their  forms,  with  dreamy  eye. 

The  Departed !  the  Departed  !  how  in  lonely  hours  we  yearn 

For  communion  with  the  vanished  who  will  never  more  return ! 

How  these  blessed  words  console  us   which  unchastened   hearts   contemn, 

"Though  they  came  not  back  unto  us,  we  shall  go  ere  long  to  them." 

The  Departed  !  the  Departed  !  they  bid  us  not  despond  ; 
There's  a  place  of  blissful  meeting  this  changeful  life  beyond, 
Where  friends  no  more  shall  sever,  nor  lips  with   sorrow  swell, — 
Wher  our  lips  shall  utter,  never,  that  bitter  word  "farewell." 

The  Departed !  the  Departed !  they  have  laid  their  burdens  down  ; 
They  have  fought  the  fearful  conflict  and  won  the  victor's  crown  ; 
And  they  bid  us  view  our  trials  as  but  joys  in  solemn  guise, 
And  sorrows,  silver  stepping-stones  to  bridge  us  to  the  skies. 

The  Departed  !  the  Departed !  they  are  near  this  holy  night ! 
Though  our  weak,  imperfect  vision,  shuts  the  glory  from  our  sight ! 
But  we  know  the  time  is  coming,  when,  from  earth's  defilements  free, 
We  shall  know  as  we  are  known,  and,  as  we  were  seen,  shall  see. 

The  Departed !  the  Departed !  if  like  them,  we  seek  to  win 

The  rest  apostles,  martyrs,  and  saints  have  entered  in, 

We  must  tread,  with  patient  prayerfulness,  the  paths  their  footsteps  trod, 

Till  Faith  is  lost  in  vision,  and  Hope  finds  joy  in  God.  C.  H. 

East  Hampton,  L.  I.,  Saturday  Evening,  October  31,  1857.  • 


The  good — they  drop  around  us,  one  by  one, 

Like  stars  when  morning  breaks  ;  though  lost  to  sight. 

Around  us  are  they  still  in  heaven's  own  light. 

Building  their  mansions  in  the  purer  zone, 

Of  the  invisible  ;  when  round  are  thrown 

Shadows  of  sorrow,  still  serenely  bright, 

To  faith  they  gleam  ;  and  blest  be  sorrow's  night. 

That  brings  th'  o'erarching  heav'ns  in  silence  down 

A  mantle  set  with  orbs  unearthly  fair ! 

Alas !  to  us  they  are  not,  though  they  dwell, 

Divinely  dwell  in  memory  ;  while  life's  sun, 

Declining,  bids  us  for  the  night  prepare. 

That  we,  with  urns  of  light  and  our  task  done. 

May  stand  with  them  in  lot  unchangeable. 


THE  BELIEVER  IN  HEAVEN  TO  A  FRIEND  ON  EARTH. 

I  shine  in  the  light  of  God, 

His    likeness    stamps    my    brow ; 
Thro'  the  valley  of  death  my  feet  have  trod. 

And  I  reign  in  glory  now. 
No  breaking  heart  is  here  ; 

No  keen  and  thriJling  pain  ; 
No  wasted  cheek,  where  the  frequent  tear 

Hath  rolled  and  left  its  stain. 


THE  TKACHINGS  OF  THE)  Bl^AD.  55 


I  have  found  the  joy  of  heaven ; 

I  am  one  of  the  angel  band ; 
To  my  head  a  crown  is  given, 

And  a  harp  is  in  my  hand. 
I   have  learned  the  song  they  sing 

Whom  Jesus  hath   made  free  ; 
And  the  glorious  walls  on  high  still  ring 

With  my  new-born  melody. 

No  sin,  no  grief,  no  pain  ; 

Safe  in  my  happy  home  ; 
My  fears  all  fled — my  doubts  all  slain ; 

My  hour  of  triumph  come. 
Friend  of  my  mortal  years ! 

The  trusted  and  the  tried ! 
Thou  art  walking  still  in  the  valley  of  tears, 

But  I  am  at  thy  side. 

Do  I  forget?     Oh,  no! 

For  memory's   golden  chain 
Shall  bind  my  heart  to  the  heart  below. 

Till  they  meet  and  touch  again. 
Each  link  is  strong  and  bright, 

And  love's  electric  flame 
Flows  freely  down,  like  a  river  of  light, 

To  the  world  from  which  I  came. 

Do  you  mourn  when  another  star 

Shines  out  from  the  glittering  sky? 
Do  you  weep  when  the  noise  of  war 

And  the  rage  of  conflict  die  ? 
Then  why  should  your  tears  roll  down, 

And  your  heart  with  grief  be  riven. 
For  another  gem  in  the  Saviour's  crown, 

And  another  soul  in  heaven? 


JACOB'S  LADDER. 

BY    REV.    WM.   ALEXANDER,    OXFORD,   ENC. 

Ah  !  many  a  time  we  look  on  starlight  nights 

Up  to  the  sky  as  Jacob  did  of  old, 
Look  longing  up  to  the  eternal  lights, 

To  spell  their  lines  of  gold. 

But  never  more,  as  to  the  Hebrew  boy. 

Each  on  his  way  the  angels  walk  abroad ; 
And  never  more  we  hear,  with  awful  joy. 

The  awful  voice  of  God. 

Yet,  to    pure  eyes  the  ladder  still  is  set. 

And  angel  visitants  still  come  and  go, 
Many  bright  messengers  are  moving  yet 

From  the  dark  world  below. 

Thoughts  that  are  red-cross'd  Faith's  outspreading  wings — 
Prayers  of  the  Church  are  keeping  time  and  tryst 

Heart-wishes,  making  bee-like   murmurings. 
Their  flower,  the  eucharist. 

Spirits  elect,  thro'  suffering  render'd  meet 

For  those  high  mansions  ;   from  the  nursery  door. 

Bright  babes  that  climb  up  with  their  clay-cold  feet 
Unto  the  golden  door. 

These  are  the  messengers,  forever  wending 

From  earth  to  heaven,  that  faith  alone  may  scan, 

These  are  the  angels  of  God,  ascending 
Upon  the  Son  of  Man. 


THE  VOICES  OF  THE  DEAD. 


The  Churchyard, — 'tis  the  nearest  spot 
Which  Hes  adjoining  to  the  spot 
That  now  surrounds  my  earthly  home, — 
The  nearest  spot  wherein  I  tread; 
One  step  whene'er  I  leave  this  room, 
And  I  am  'mid  the  voiceless  dead. 
If  duty  hence  or  pleasure  call, 
Whene'er  I  leave  my  rural  hall. 
In  going  or  returning  still. 
In  doing  good  or  doing  ill, 
I  tread  the  silent  graves  along. 
That  I  in  all  might  daily  learn  to  die, 
When  I  return,  when  forth  I  wend, 
At  the  beginning,  and  the  end, 

I  am  the  dead  among. 
And  now  my  thoughts  with  them  would  dwell, 

Approaching,  unapproachable. 

The  Churchyard, — 'tis  the  spot  of  ground 
Which  lies  the  two  great  worlds  between. 

The  living  and  the  dead ; 
The  living  by  the  graves  are  seen, 
The  dead  in  funeral  fetters  wound, 
Their  bodies  in  the  winding-sheet. 
Their  souls  among  the  spirits  led. 
'Tis  here  the  dead  and  living  meet. 
It  is  an  awful  spot, — to  stand 
With  either  world  on  either  hand. 
What  countless  paths  do  hither  end, 
Full  of  heart-breaking  histories, 
With  all  the  sorrows  that  attend 
The  sunderings  of  a  thousand  ties? 
The  sorrows  that  survived  the  dead, 
Soon  in  the  grave  beside  him  laid; — 
And  sorrows  of  his  dying  bed, 
Here  wrapt  alike  in  death's  calm  shade. 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  57 

What  countless  paths  do  hence  begin 
To  pass  the  eternal  place  within? 
What  spirits  here,  beyond  the  veil, 
The  disembodied  soul  have  met? 
O  what  are  thoughts  which  are  with  thee, 
\\'ho  hast  escaped  from  the  net, 
Which  round  thy  path  the  fowler  set, 
Who  hast  broke  forth, — for  ever  free? 

It  is  an  awful  thing  to  stand 
With  either  world  on  either  hand. 
Upon  the  intermediate  ground 
Which  doth  the  sense  and  spirit  bound. 
Woe  worth  the  man  who  doth  not  fear 
When  spirits  of  the  dead  are  near. 
How  wild  their  awful  destinies ! 
As  stars  that  gleam  among  the  trees, 
'Tween  leaves  that  tremble  ere  they  fall. 
When  the  Autumnal  wind  shall  call ; 
And  oft  at  intervals  disclose 
The  interminable  drca.d  repose 
With  watch-towers  gleaming  in  their  height 
With  something  of  unearthly  light. 
Veiling  the  terrors  they  express. 
Unspeakable  in  tenderness, 
Drawing  our  thoughts  with  them  to  tread 
The  dwelling-places  of  the  dead! 

We  send  our  thoughts  with  them  to  dwell, 

But  still  the  wall  impassable 

Bars  us  around  with  sensual  bond, 

In  vain  we  dive  for  that  beyond ; 

Yet  traverse  o'er  and  o'er  the  bound. 

Walking  on  the  unseen  profound. 

Like  flies,  which  fain  would  break  away 

Into  the  expanse  of  open  day. 

They  know  not  why,  are  travelling  still 

On  the  glass  fence  invisible : 

So  dwell  our  thoughts  with  the  unseen, 

Yet  cannot  pass  the  bourn  between. 


58  THie  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

My  spirit  doth  within  me  sink, 
When  thus  I  stand  upon  the  brink, 
And  labour  with  them  to  converse 
Hid  in  the  boundless  universe; 
O  'tis  a  fearful  thing  to  be 
Within  your  silent  company! 
This  outer  world  doth  seem  to  fail, 
And  stoutest  heart  turns  pale ; 
Your  very  stillness  seems  to  din, 
And  wake  a  deeper  noise  within. 

Ye  spirits  that  around  us  sleep 

In  stillness  deep. 
With  nothing  to  be  done  again, 
Beyond  the  sight  and  thoughts  of  men. 

Who  o'er  your  memories  weep. 
What  are  the  thoughts  which  you  attend 

Where  all  things  end? 
Come  all  around  me  with  your  spell 
To  mortal  unattainable. 
O'er  my  becalmed  senses  creep, 
And  with  yourselves  my  spirits  steep. 

Yes,  'tis  an  awful  thing  to  die. 
And  yet  unconquer'd  in  that  agony, 
Stronger  than  death,  survives  the  spirit's  love; 
And  may  we  then  indeed  believe  you  nigh. 
Ye  whom  we  loved,  and  wept  so  long? 
No  thoughts  with  power  so  grave  and  strong 
The  fountain  depths  of  all  our  being  move. 
As  ye  who  hidden  are  from  view 

In  summer  light, 

When  all  is  bright. 

The  thoughts  of  you 
Come  o'er  us  like  a  loaded  cloud ; 

In  midnight  deep. 

When  all  things  sleep, 
Your  awful  presence  speaks  aloud. 

Come,  teach  us,  for  ye  sure  can  tell. 
What  it  is  to  be  with  God, 


the;  teachings  of  the;  dead.  59 

Safe  from  the  avenging  rod, 

In  the  path  by  spirits  trod : 
For  with  you  I  soon  must  dwell. 

Spirits  of  the  dead, 
Be  gently  o'er  me  hither  led, 

Ye  bodiless  society ! 
Or  if  ye  cannot  come  to  me, 
Yet  I  in  thought  to  you  will  come ; 
For  with  you  I  soon  must  be, 
Must  dwell  with  you,  when  life  is  done, 
Far  longer  than  I  see  the  sun. 

And  I  now  would  learn  your  lore, 

Less  I  then  the  loss  deplore. 
In  the  gloom. 

And  the  silence  of  the  tomb. 

Where  I  nothing  more  can  do, 
But  all  now  left  undone  shall  then  for  ever  rue. 

Ye  holy  dead,  now  come  around. 

In  season  more  profound ; 
And  through  the  barriers  of  our  sense 
Shed  round  your  calming  influence ; 
In  silence  come  and  solitude, 
With  thoughts  which  o'er  the  mourner  brood. 

Ye  sounds  depart 

That  fill  the  heart 
With  noise  of  this  tumultuous  sphere; 
Ye  holy  dead,  in  peace  draw  near ! 
Now  let  the  listening  earth  be  still, 

With  grove  and  hill ; 

Let  sea  and  land 

In  silence  stand ; 
Let  ocean  now  his  silence  keep, 
With  all  his  thousand  rivers  deep; 
Which  in  their  mountain-dwellings  leap 

From  steep  to  steep. 
Be  silent,  ye  loud-footed  streams. 
For  holy  silence  best  beseems. 
Let  pensive  calm,  and  sober  rest, 


60  THE  TEACHINGS  OE  THE  DEAD. 

Their  twilight  curtain  o'er  us  weave ; 

Let  sacred  Eve, 
And  Contemplation  be  our  guest. 

Be  hush'd,  thou  pole, 
And  stars  that  round  in  order  roll : 
Let  the  soul 
Herself  be  still'd. 
With  thoughts  which  idle  bosom  fill'd ; 

Let  tongue  and  sign 
Unspeakable  be  lost  in  awe  divine ! 
Ye  shadows  fleeting  o'er  the  grass. 
And  the  steps  of  things  that  pass 
To  the  grave. 
In  some  calm  and  hallow'd  cave 
Your  dread  influence  o'er  us  wave. 
Come  around  me  ye  that  dwell, 

Unapproachable, 
By  the  gates  of  Heaven  or  Hell ; 
Unto  me  your  wisdom  tell ! 
All  around,  in  calm  profound, 
I  hear  your  voices  from  the  ground ; 
Now  lend  me  your  unearthly  ear, 
That  your  deep  wisdom  I  may  hear. 

Ye  deathless  spirits  which  have  gone, 
Gone  haply  to  be  yet  more  nigh, 
All  strangely  and  unspeakably, 
Than  when  we  saw  you  standing  by; 
Lo,  where  I  now  am  left  alone, 
And  would  around  your  presence  own. 

Come  to  me. 
If  capable  of  change  of  place. 
Bring  ye  near  with  awful  face 

Your  dread  society ! 
Lend  me  your  Heaven-illumin'd  sight, 
That  I  with  that  may  see  aright 

What  ye  do  prize, 
Seeing  all  things  with  your  eyes, 


the;  teachings  of  the;  de;ad.  61 

With  your  eyes  all  things  surveying, 
And  with  you  for  ever  praying. 

Ye  departed,  stand  ye  nigh, 
Let  your  presence  make  me  wise 

In  the  things  ye  now  descry ! 
For  haply  ere  the  morning's  rise, 

Or  before  the  evening's  light, 
One  with  you  may  I  be  found. 
And  never  more  behold  the  round 
Of  day  and  night. 

Endless  sleepers,  teach  me  then, 

For  I  trow  the  way  ye  go. 
None  can  traverse  back  again. 
Yea,  'tis  a  fearful  thing  to  think, 
Fearful  beyond  all  we  know. 
That  before  the  rising  sun 
O'er  night's  sable  brow  shall  sink. 

Or  before  the  night  hath  run 
Through  her  course  with  star-light  shod, 
I  may  be  with  God. 

Endless  wakers,  teach  me  now, 
For  I  know. 

Whether  it  be  soon  or  late 
Death  to  me  his  warrant  shew, 

I  ere  long  must  pass  the  gate 

Which  doth  bound  this  mortal  state. 

Ye  that  are  where  all  must  meet. 

After  this  their  winding-sheet, 
Whate'er  ye  be,  if  rightly  we 

Substances  or  shadows  call 

Those  that  people  your  dark  hall. 
Stay  awhile, 

Till  I  learn  your  lesson  stern ; 
That  nothing  may  again  my  heart  beguile. 
Ye  that  evermore 

Behold  the  true  substantial  Sun, 
Where  His  short  earthly  race  like  yours  is  o'er : 


62  THE  TEACHINGS  OE  THE  DEAD. 

What  is  it  that  ye  desire? 
What  is  it  we  wish  undone? 
Or  for  ever  now  require, 
Where  impassable  remains 
Custody  of  viewless  chains, 
And  eternity  for  ever  reigns? 

Can  ye  your  secret  not  impart 
In  the  dread  silence  of  the  heart? 
What  is  this 
Which  we  may  miss. 
And  the  loss  for  ever  mourn ; — 
Where  penitence  is  fruitless  and  forlorn? 

Buried  friends,  your  voice  I  hear, 
As  the  voice  of  midnight  clear, 
If  midnight's  self  could  find  a  tongue, 
This  would  be  her  voice's  sound, 
All  about  it  comes  around. 
One  dread  accent  to  prolong, 
"No  repentance  in  the  grave. 
And  beyond  no  power  to  save ;" 
With  one  voice,  both  low  and  high. 
Now  they  cry, 
And  multitudinous  sounds  reply. 

And  is  this  all 

Ye  wisdom  call  ? 
This  I  deem  I  know  full  well, 
And  we  need  no  further  spell, 
From  your  dark  bed 

This  to  tell. 
But  there  is  an  accent  dread 
In  the  voices  of  the  dead. 
When  this  lesson  they  proclaim. 
Though  the  living  speak  the  same. 

Now  I  hear 

Your  accents  clear. 
Speaking  wisdom  more  divine, 
With  me  wheresoe'er  I  go. 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  63 

I  must  hasten  to  the  shrine, 

For  the  bell 

Tells  the  knell 
Of  the  number'd  hours  that  flow, 
While  it  summons  me  to  prayer, 
And  I  trust  ye  will  be  there. 

Lo,  beneath  the  Altar  nigh. 
Now  I  hear  your  voices  cry, 

Lord,  how  long 
Shall  Thy  chariot-wheels  delay, 
And  the  coming  of  that  Day? 

Lord,  how  long 
Shall  Thy  Church  in  exile  mourn, 
Thy  saints  be  with  contention  torn, 
While  Antichrist  uprears  his  horn  ? 

O  midnight,  with  thy  dim  serene. 
Art  thou  the  image  of  the  scene, 
Wherein  the  dead  await  the  Judge's  call, — 

Peopling  the  dim  and  silent  height. 
In  watches  numberless  and  bright, 

With  darkness  for  their  pall : — 
The  midnight  when  the  voice  is  heard. 

The  Bridegroom  comes ; 
And  Angel  callings  the  deep  heart  have  stirr'd 

Amid  the  silent  tombs  ? 

Midnight,  thou  hast  found  a  tongue, — 

Thy  darkness  and  thy  solitude 

Do  on  the  secret  spirit  brood, 
When  thou  in  dreams  dost  take  the  soul  among 

Scenes  that  have  been  buried  long. 
Thy  voice, — it  doth  not  silence  break. 

But  is  as  awful  spirits  speak, 

Louder  than  the  voice  of  men. 

Though  no  sound  is  with  us  then ; — 
Speaking  with  no  sound 

In  the  heart's  abyss  profound, 

In  that  place  that  is  more  deep 
Than  all  but  thoughts  which  are  with  sleep. 


64  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

Midnight,  could  I  see  thy  face, 
Like  the  dark  aerial  space. 
When  the  stars  do  gleam  in  the  eternal  place 
And  on  all  life  there  is  a  spell, 

And  a  pause, 
Silent,  dread,  unspeakable, 

Suspending  nature's  laws. 
Who  her  dark  curtain  o'er  us  draws. 
Thou  seem'st  to  visit  us  from  that  dark  cave, 
Where  they,  whose  fleshly  robes  are  in  the  grave, 
In  silence  and  in  stillness  wait. 
In  intermediate  state, 
The  Judgment  gleaming  in  the  eastern  gate. 

Thought  wanders  forth  afar, 
Yet  cannot  pass  the  viewless  bar, 
And  of  that  place  can  nothing  guess. 
But  something  like  an  awful  sleep, 

A  something  deep, 
And  shadowlike,  yet  shadowless 
Like  day,  'neath  some  still  fountain  seen. 
With  a  white  moon  and  cloudy  sheen, 
Unreal,  yet  like  all  we  see. 
In  shadowlike  immensity 
Yet,  doubtless,  ye  more  real  are  than  we. 
Partaking  naught  of  shadow  or  of  gloom ; 
To  be  with  Christ,  and  be  at  home. 
While  here  as  in  a  dream  we  roam. 

Then  strife  is  o'er,  and  work  is  done, 

And  Contemplation  comes  alone. 
Wrapt  in  a  twilight  veil  with  dew  besprent, 

Through  that  deep  door  which  death  hath  rent ; 

She  comes  to  sit  her  by  your  side. 
And  in  old  memory's  ruin'd  cell  abide. 

Recalling  all  the  work  that's  o'er. 
Recounting  all  her  store, 
That  can  be  lessened  and  increased  no  more. 

0  fearful  things  do  walk  the  night, 

1  feign  would  hide  me  from  their  sight ; 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  66 

The  wind  seems  howling  low  beneath  the  trees, 

Then  silent  sinks  the  breeze, 
And  nought  I  hear  but  sounds  like  distant  seas. 
I  would  with  terror  deep  mine  eyelids  close, 
From  shades  of  other  days  in  death's  dark  vale, 

That  comes  with  many  a  tale, 
And  break  on  stillness  of  that  dread  repose. 

O  night,  O  stars,  O  blue  profound, 
Which  hedge  my  fancy  round, 

When  solemn  awe 
Doth  around  her  mantle  draw, 
With  a  blue  unearthly  dress, 
As  in  dreams, 
Visiting  with  starlike  gleams 

Of  everlastingness ; 
When  I  would  think  of  that  dread  cell, 
Peopled  with  the  invisible ! 

But  awful  night  is  terrible. 

And  seems  to  speak  the  gates  of  Hell, 
Where  ghosts  of  my  past  sins  may  dwell. 
Lord,  in  the  rock  with  Thee  let  me  abide, 
Nay,  in  Thyself,  the  Rock,  my  spirit  hide, 
No  phantom  of  past  guilt  that  soul  shall  stir 
Which  finds  in  Thee  her  sepulchre. 


5— Vol.  X. 


THE  CITY  OF  MARTYRS. 


I.  1. 

Is  this  the  Holy  Church  on  earth, 

Which  nothing  earthly  taints; 
Jerusalem  of  heavenly  birth ; 
The  City  of  the  Saints ; 
Wisdom's  true  house,  and  seven-fold  pillar'd  halls, 
Whose  streets  are  by  good  Angels  trod, 
Her  boundaries  th'  eternal  walls. 
Her  gates  that  lead  alone  unto  the  throne  of  God  ? 
E'en  so  proclaims  th'  unnumber'd  tongue 
A  thousand  years  along. 

2. 
O  mystery  of  mysteries ! 
O  Salem  worthy  of  a  Saviour's  tears! 
For  what  are  these  idolatries, 
Nursed  in  thy  hidden  courts  and  open  skies? 
Is  this  the  City  of  the  light  where  this  black  hall  appears? 
That  he  who  runs  may  read  on  thee 
Something  of  fearful  mystery. 

3. 
Then  art  thou  that  dread  Power  on  seven  hills. 
Where  deep  imbedded,  'neath  ancestral  halls, 
The  air  some  monster  dead  with  foul  contagion  fills? 
Where  evil  spirits  haunt  the  walls. 
And  the  old  Serpent  finds  a  home. 
And  hides  him  in  the  relics  dark  of  old  imperial  Rome? 
There  coil'd  beneath  that  ancient  Capitol 
Doth  he  again  his  deadly  length  unroll. 
The  woman's  Seed  in  his  embrace  to  fold, 
A  deeper  empire  still  in  souls  of  men  to  hold? 
E'en  so  proclaims  th'  unnumber'd  tongue 
The  flowing  years  along. 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  67 

4. 

O  mystery  of  mysteries  ! 
For  where  hath  e'er  Devotion  drunk  so  deep 
Of  penitential  sighs  ? 
Where  with  so  grave  a  tone  hath  true  Love  learn'd  to  weep  ? 
Can  Antichrist  thus  oft  to  prayer  and  vigil  call, 
And  with  the  depths  of  holiness  the  sinner's  heart  appal? 

5. 
Yet  what  are  things  we  hear  of  thee, 

The  things  we  hear  and  see? 
That  she  who  made  the  kingdom  known, — 
A  thousand  idol  shrines  hath  overthrown, — 
Now  teems  herself  with  dark  idolatry 
A  thousand  Martyrs'  bones  within  her  bosom  lie ; 
But  her  own  hands  are  stain'd  with  blood 

Of  Christian  brotherhood? 
She  who  the  faith  hath  guarded  well 
As  in  a  holy  Citadel, 
Worships  her  God  enshrined  in  local  space, 
As  in  a  carnal  resting-place. 

6. 
O  name  most  holy,  yet  most  sinful,  styled. 

Most  glorious  and  yet  most  defiled ! 
Most  haughty,  yet  most  lowly  still, — 

O  mystery  unspeakable! 

7. 
Wonderful  sight  for  good  or  ill ! 
Whose  very  name  men's  deepest  hearts  doth  thrill 

For  love  or  hate ; 
She  seems  the  judgment  of  our  God  to  wait. 
O  keep  me,  Christ,  to  gaze  upon  this  mystery. 
And  yet  unharm'd  pass  by: — 
Where  Thou  hast  set  to  do  Thy  secret  will, 
Bidding  me  in  Thine  own  appointed  state 
Await  Thy  sentence,  and  be  still. 


68  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

8. 
I  will  not  speak  of  thee  with  scorn, 
Lest  I  Christ's  very  Bride,  the  Ancient-born, 
Yea,  His  own  awful  Spirit,  have  reviled. 
I  will  not  cease  o'er  thee  to  mourn, 
Lest  I  with  Christ's  own  foe  at  last  be  reconciled. 

II.  1. 

O  lead  me  to  thy  Martyrs'  tomb,  O  gently  lead, 
Thou  City  of  the  Dead ; 
I  would  forget  thee  what  thou  art 
To  learn  of  thee  as  thou  hast  been : 
Let  that  high  vision  not  depart. 
O  gently  lead  me  to  thy  haunts  unseen ; 
Let  me  through  all  thy  secret  caverns  wind ; 
Leave  sounds  of  earth  and  ruder  thoughts  behind, 
Lest  they  disturb  the  mystery 
Which  lingers  o'er  the  cells  wherein  their  ashes  lie. 

2. 

Peace  to  the  shrines  wherein  they  sleep ! 

Walk  softly,  gently  by. 
Lest  thou  should'st  break  the  memories  deep 

Wherein  they  buried  lie ; 
Each  word  doth  mar  some  holy  spell, 
Or  crumble  hallow'd  dust  from  off  their  silent  cell. 

3. 

O  quiet  stillness,  yet  how  deep, 
How  imperturb'd  and  dead  the  gloom! 
Is  this  in  arms  of  Christ  to  sleep? — 
To  thee  we  yearn,  O  Rome,  O  Rome, 

As  exiles  to  their  home. 
Wilt  thou  not  here  be  reconciled? 
Erring  thyself  receive  thine  erring  child, — 
Each  own  herself  by  sin  and  hate  defiled, 

And  o'er  each  other  weep, 
Lock'd  once  again  in  one  embrace 
In  this  thy  Martyrs'  resting-place. 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  69 

4. 

Stay,  stay  awhile,  for  see  afar 

Twilight  let  in,  like  nightly  star, 

Opens  the  shades, — in  calm  profound 

Keeping  her  watch  on  holy  ground. 

Piled  in  their  beds  they  sleep  around ; 

Cells  of  the  dead,  which  on  each  side 

Amid  their  scant  memorials  hide; 

As  haste  and  terror  could  entomb 

In  the  deep-cavern'd  catacomb; 

Where  the  rough  mortar  in  the  gloom 

Holds  some  mute  emblem,  which  might  plead 

Their  hope  in  dying,  or  their  need. 

5. 
The  Martyr's  Heaven-beseeching  mood, 
And  hands  in  praying  attitude ; 
Letters  uncouth,  or  symbols  rude. 
In  outline  dimly  character'd ; 
The  Cross,  the  palm,  the  fish,  the  bird, — 
The  bird  which  flies  and  finds  release 
Bearing  the  olive  branch  of  peace ; — 
The  hart,  where  cooling  waters  flow. 
With  antler'd  forehead  bending  low ; — 
The  courser  speeding  to  the  goal 
As  to  eternity  the  soul; 
They  seem  Faith's  watchers  at  the  grave, 
Their  hallow'd  resting-place  to  save ; 
Whose  voices  in  the  bosom  heard 
A  thousand  echoes  there  have  stirr'd. 

6. 

What  is  this  vase  with  stains  imbued  ? 

It  is  the  Holy  Martyr's  blood ; 

This  is  the  sponge  that  drunk  the  gore, 

This  is  the  urn  that  keeps  the  store : 

O  blest  memorials  lying  by. 

And  he  whose  dust  doth  with  them  lie ! 

But  who  is  he?  and  what  his  name? 


70  THD  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

What  deeds  shall  him  in  Judgment  claim? 
What  were  his  pains?  and  what  his  life 
Which  had  prepared  him  for  the  strife? 

7. 
What  signals  these  of  love  bereft, 
By  artless  haste  in  silence  left? 
And  still  their  rudely  carved  farewell 
Speaks  of  the  things  tongue  cannot  tell ; 
While  at  their  graves  her  watch  doth  keep 
Silence  unutterably  deep ; 
Symbols  which  at  Death's  portals  dwell 
Speak  words  that  are  unspeakable ; — 
Bring  to  the  heart  things  hid  from  view, 
The  language  of  the  world  where  all  is  true. 

8. 

A  little  onward; — on  each  side 

The  dormitory  ranges  wide 

In  storied  mansions,  where  to  view 

The  subterranean  avenue 

Opes  branching  shades,  and  still  anew 

The  pale  light  breaks  in  to  illume 

Some  rude  memorial  in  the  gloom. 

And  draws  the  footsteps  to  a  tomb. 

9. 

Far  onward  yet,  where  Twilight  dim 
Seems  her  faint-glimmering  lamp  to  trim. 
Now  finish'd  more  the  marble  stone 
Hath  ta'en  the  impress,  and  makes  known 
Their  story  or  their  faith  sublime ; 
Memorials  wrought  in  breathing  time, 
When  lingering  love  to  them  hath  turn'd. 
As  Persecution  feebler  burn'd; — 
With  more  of  art,  of  nature  less, 
More  beauty,  less  impressiveness. 

10. 
Now  spreads  the  deep  sepulchral  glade 
To  shrines  retired  in  cavern'd  shade ; 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  71 

Walls,  which  some  pictured  tale  inwreathe, 

With  living  inspiration  breathe. 

The  Shepherd  on  his  shoulders  brings 

His  long-lost  sheep:  or  Jonah  springs 

From  Resurrection's  ocean  womb, 

Cast  new-bom  from  his  watery  tomb. 

Here  Noah  from  his  house  of  wood. 

Upon  the  watery  solitude. 

Puts  forth  his  hand  to  welcome  home 

The  dove  that  shall  no  longer  roam, 

With  olive  rudely  manifest, 

Her  welcome  to  the  ark  of  rest. 

Here  Christ  by  the  sepulchral  cave. 

With  voice  omnipotent  to  save. 

Here  'mid  the  lions  Daniel  prays ; 

Here  Princes  in  the  unharming  blaze. 

11. 
Like  echoes  from  their  tombs  around 
Such  living  lessons  seem  to  bound ; 
Reverberating,  on  they  pass, 
Responsive  borne  from  grave  to  grave, 
And  die  afar  upon  the  wave 
Of  some  Baptismal  fountain  deep. 
Where  on  yon  distant  shrine  dark  waters  sleep. 

12. 
Still  on  and  onward,  without  end. 
Like  the  dim  moonlight,  ways  extend; 
Shrines,  cells,  and  tombs  together  press, 
A  subterranean  wilderness, 
Branching  on  all  sides  without  bound. 
City  of  Churches  underground; 
The  empire  of  the  silent  dead, 
Christ's  ancient  Kingdom's  quiet  bed. 
O  resting-places  of  the  good, 
How  peopled  is  your  solitude ! 
How  deep,  intense,  and  calm  the  prayer 
From  shrines  and  altars  hidden  there ! 
How  solemn  is  the  requiem  said 


72  THE  TEACHINGS  OP  THE  DEAD. 

Within  this  City  of  the  Dead ! 
Where  every  shrine  is  but  a  tomb, 
Each  altar  speaks  of  martyrdom. 

13. 
Darkness  itself  doth  with  them  dwell 
By  silence  made  more  terrible : 
As  when  Night  lets  her  curtain  fall, 
The  stars  in  the  aerial  hall 
Come  forth  to  sight,  and  stand  around 
Ineffable,  august,  profound. 
In  calm  wild  watches,  stern  and  still, 
The  Dead  around  the  twilight  fill. 

14. 

Far  in  the  fear-inspiring  gloom 
They  hide  their  awful  face  in  Expectation's  womb, 

Yet  find  a  voice,  and  seem  to  say. 

Out  of  the  deep  to  Thee  I  call, 

The  deep  sepulchral  hall; 

As  they  who  watch  for  dawning  day, 
We  wait  Thy  coming  in,  Thou  Everlasting  ray. 

III.  1. 

Here  where  Death  holds  his  silent  court, 
Did  youthful  Jerome  erst  resort, 
Through  Sunday  evenings  musing  long, 
A  living  guest  the  dead  among ; 
For  Sabbath  thoughts  O  suited  well! 
Here  feelings  drunk  unspeakable. 
Which  through  his  after  life  diffuse 
Philosophy  of  sabler  hues ; 
By  stern  and  pensive  sadness  bred. 
The  wisdom  which  is -with  the  dead. 
O  Saints  and  Martyrs  ever  blest, 
This  is  the  Sabbath  of  your  rest, 
Where  shall  we  learn  such  wisdom  high 
As  in  your  silent  company? 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE)  DEAD.  73 

2. 

And  scenes  like  these  were  sure  the  home 
Of  the  true  bard  of  Martyrdom, 
Such, — the  last  conflicts  of  the  good, 
Whose  deaths  have  peopled  this  abode, — 
Touch'd  his  deep  heart,  and  fill'd  his  tongue, 
When  "grave  and  great"  Prudentius  sung. 

3. 
Here,  from  the  terrors  of  the  grave, 
The  new-born  Church  with  power  to  save 
Issued,  as  from  a  shrouding  cave : 
Like  that  famed  Antioch's  martyr-maid, 
As  by  the  Painter's  art  displayed, — 
Meek  Margaret  in  calmness  treading 
Upon  the  dragon  'neath  her  spreading 
His  scaly  length  in  death  extended, 
His  hell-eyes  on  her  fiercely  bended. 
She  in  the  gloom  of  lurid  night 
Treads  like  an  Angel  of  the  light. 

4. 
By  his  own  arms  subdued,  the  foe 
Doth  now  his  martyr-fires  forego; 
But  with  the  Martyr's  soul  imbued 
Religion  drunk  her  sterner  mood. 
And  rising  in  immortal  mould 
The  Cross  did  for  her  anchor  hold, 
Peopling  with  Saints  the  courts  of  Heaven, 
To  whom  that  virgin  soul  was  given 
Which  learns  a  daily  death  to  die, 
That  so  their  prayers  from  earth  might  readier  reach  the  sky. 

5. 

Thence  Rome  at  her  Apostle's  tomb, 
And  grave  of  Martyrs,  did  assume 
Her  attitude  and  form  divine. 
Girding  herself  with  discipline. 
Here  her  deep  fountains  would  I  sound. 
Her  ancient  fountains  under  ground. 


74  THE  TEACHINGS  Of  THE  DEAD. 

While  all  around  corruption  clings 
Here  would  I  turn  to  clearer  springs, — 
That  lake  with  all  its  thousand  rills, 
Which  unpolluted  there  distils 
Amid  the  mist-enshrouded  hills. 
Where  calmly  on  them  seems  to  press 
Something  of  everlastingness. 

6. 
In  Time's  dark  hidden  womb, 
That  seems  itself  to  mantle  from  our  sight, 
Silence  and  the  sepulchral  damp 
The  Church's  cradle  hides,  the  Mother  of  all  light. 
And  in  the  darkness  of  the  Martyr's  tomb, 

I  too  would  light  my  lamp 
To  guide  me  onward  to  the  Day  of  doom. 

7. 
Nothing  of  earth  around  doth  stir, 
Stillness  and  subterranean  shade 
Her  saints  doth  sepulchre. 
In  darkness  are  her  pillars  laid, 
And  her  eternal  walls  are  there. 
Founded  in  the  obscure  of  night; 
As  mists  on  clouded  mountain  height 
Cradle  some  mighty  river's  birth, 
'Mid  the  foundations  of  the  earth. 


Silence  and  gloom,  and  night  profound. 
In  you  a  spirit  breathes  around ! 
It  is  to  know  the  dead  are  near. 
And  Christ  before  Whom  they  appear. 
Therefore  the  dark  doth  our  dimm'd  sense  astound 
Deep  underground. 

9. 
When  dreariness  itself  doth  seem  most  drear, 
When  darkest  is  the  thunder-cloud, 


the;  te;achings  of  the  dead,  75 

Then  unseen  worlds  do  seem  most  near, 

And  in  the  tempest's  shroud 
Suddenly  break  upon  the  eye  and  ear, 
'Mid  blackest  mountains  echoing  loud. 

10. 
Clouds  and  thick  darkness  are  His  dwelling  place, 
And  night  His  tabernacle; 
As  Moses  when  he  saw  His  face, 
Where  everlasting  shades  around  Him  dwell; 
Blackness  around  and  night  profound 
His  mantle  skirts  had  bound. 

11. 
From  the  thick  sable  of  the  tomb, 
Wrapt  in  impenetrable  gloom, 
Unutterably  silent  doom. 
The  Everlasting  day  is  born. 

As  night  precedes  the  morn. 

12. 

Darkness  is  stable  'neath  His  feet. 
His  goings  are  a  cloud, 
In  dead  of  night  the  soul  her  God  must  meet. 
And  in  the  grave  which  night  and  silence  shroud. 
His  footsteps  in  dark  waters  are, 
Ten  thousand  fathoms  deep, 
Where  Ocean's  fountains  sleep, 
Nor  Sun  nor  Moon  nor  Stars  are  gleaming  there, 

13. 
Lord,  in  this  night  be  Thou  my  guide. 
Lead  Thou  me  on  through  these  dark  shadowy  lands; 
Through  wilderness  of  tombs  on  every  side 
I  wander  in  the  dark,  and  stretch  forth  feeble  hands. 
O  let  me  hold  Thee,  be  my  guiding  Star, 
Hold  Thou  my  hand,  while  step  by  step  afar 
I  seek  Thy  light ;  until  these  shadows  flee 
Let  me  but  feel  Thee  near,  and  follow  Thee. 


76  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 


NOTE. 

Part  III,  1.  Allusion  is  here  made  to  the  following  account  in  St. 
Jerome,  in  his  Commentary  on   Ezekiel,  lib.  xii.  cap.  xl. 

"When  I  was  at  Rome  as  a  boy,  while  pursuing  my  studies  there,  I  was 
wont  on  the  Lord's  day,  with  others  of  the  same  age  and  turn  of  mind,  to 
frequent  the  sepulchres  of  the  Apostles  and  Martyrs ;  and  oftentimes  to 
enter  into  the  crypts  which  are  dug  into  the  deep  places  of  the  earth  ;  and 
have  the  bodies  of  the  dead  buried  along  the  walls  on  either  side  as  you 
enter:  and  all  things  are  so  enveloped  in  gloom  that  the  prophetical  expres- 
sion seems  in  a  manner  fulfilled  there,  'let  them  go  down  alive  into  hell.' 
Rarely  does  the  light  admitted  from  above  alleviate  the  horror  of  the 
darkness,  and  even  that  such  as  that  you  might  suppose  it  was  rather  an 
opening  that  let  in  the  light  than  a  window.  We  approached  step  by  step, 
and  surrounded  with  the  darkness  of  night,  so  as  to  remind  one  ot  the  line 
in  Virgil, 

Horror  on  every  side,  e'en  silence  awes  the  mind, 

"I  mention  this  that  the  thoughtful  reader  may  understand  what  my 
opinion  is  of  the  explanation  of  the  Temple  of  God  in  Ezekiel ;  of  whom 
it  is  written,  that  'darkness  was  under  His  feet,'  and  again,  'He  maketh 
darkness  His  secret  place.'  Hence  Moses  also  entered  into  the  cloud  and 
thick  darkness,  that  he  might  be  able  to  contemplate  the  mysteries  of  the 
Lord,  which  the  people  placed  afar  off,  and  remaining  below  could  not 
perceive.  And  again,  after  the  forty  days  the  people,  on  account  of  the 
blindness  which  was  upon  their  eyes,  could  not  behold  the  face  of  Moses, 
l>ecause  his  countenance  was  glorified,  or  as  it  is  in  the  Hebrew,  horned. 
Such  is  the  case  with  me  when  I  read  the  description  of  the  mystical 
Temple,  which  the  Jews,  judging  by  the  letter,  think  was  to  be  built  for 
the  Advent  of  their  Christ,  whom  we  prove  to  be  Antichrist.  But  this  we 
refer  to  the  Church  of  Christ  and  perceive  it  daily  to  be  builded  up  in  His 
Saints.  Whensoever  the  eye  of  the  heart  is  opened,  I  seem  to  perceive 
something,  and  to  have  hold  of  the  Bridegroom,  and  cry  out  in  delight,  'I 
have  found  Him  whom  my  soul  sought  for,  I  will  hold  Him.  and  I  will 
not  let  Him  go  ;'  then  again  the  Divine  Word  deserts  me,  and  the  Bride- 
groom escapes  from  my  hands,  and  my  eyes  are  closed  in  darkness,  so  that 
I  am  constrained  to  say,  'O  the  depth  of  the  riches  of  the  wisdom,  and  of 
the  knowledge  of  God  ;  how  unsearchable  are  His  judgments,  and  His  ways 
past  finding  out.'  And  as  it  is  written  in  another  place,  'Thy  judgments 
are  like  the  great  deep.'  And  again,  'Out  of  the  deep  have  I  called  unto 
Thee,  O  Lord !  Lord,  hear  my  voice.'  And  like  that  cry  of  Elisha  who 
with 'the  eyes  of  his  heart  followed  his  Master  when  carried  away  from 
Him,  and  exclaimed,  'My  Father,  my  Father,  the  chariot  of  Israel,  and  the 
horsemen  thereof  1'  " 


THE  AlUSIC  OF  THE  CITY  OF  GOD. 


When  listening  still  at  midnight  deep 
Thought  doth  her  vigil  keep, 
Lo,  suddenly,  in  some  old  holy  town 

The  sacred  chime  is  sounding; 
As  modulating  sweet  its  tuneful  changes 
The  solemn  minstrelsy  runs  down, 
What  memories  old  are  all  the  soul  surrounding! 
What  echoing  thoughts  responsive  beat! 
Prolonging  now  its  cadence  sweet, 
On  chains  of  sadness  wild  it  ranges; 
And  still,  at  each  descending  fall, 
Awakes  through  memory's  pictured  hall 

Her  long- forgotten  treasures; 
Visions  most  sad,  most  musical. 

Old  shapes  that  haunt  the  hallow'd  wall. 
And  worlds  that  live  in  holy  measures. 

They  steal  around  us,  calm  and  deep, — 

Awakening  from  their  sleep, 
Where  waters  of  oblivion  creep, — 
Meek  saintly  forms  that  walk'd  the  cloister  dim. 
And  heard  of  old  the  vesper  hymn, 
Come  round  us,  and  the  deep-wrapt  vision  fill. 
Ring  on,  ring  on,  ye  solemn  chimes. 
And  let  me  wander  still, 
Still  wander  in  the  blissful  dream  of  happy  olden  times. 

Hail,  hallow'd  visions  on  my  way  attending. 
With  dews  of  morn  again,  and  singing  voices  blending; 
Where  yearly  in  that  vernal  hour 
The  sacred  City  is  in  shades  reclining. 
With  gilded  turrets  in  the  sunrise  shining : — 
From  sainted  Magdalene's  aerial  tower 
Sounds  far  aloof  that  ancient  chaunt  are  singing. 
And  round  the  heart  again  those  solemn  memories  bringing. 


78  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

What  wonder  if  that  matin  hymn 

Sounds  like  the  song  of  Seraphim ; 
The  present  all  unreal  seems,  from  Heaven 
Such  power  is  to  the  past  and  awful  future  given. 
Things  long  gone  by  come  floating  back  again, 

With  all  their  cloud-borne  airy  train ; 
From  those  bright  clouds  an  Angel  seems  to  lean, 
And  thence  to  speak  of  the  unseen. 
Of  better  things  that  once  have  been, 
Better  than  all  that  doth  remain ; 
As  if  to  bring  protection  round, 
On  that  fair  town  with  holy  turrets  crown'd. 
Their  bright  assemblage  far  disclosing, 
In  morning's  mantle  green  all  freshly  now  reposing. 

Harp  of  the  heart,  sweet  posey. 

In  secret  spirit  lying. 
Something  within,  whate'er  thou  art. 
Which  hopes  and  memories  bringest  nigh, 
And  in  our  inmost  being  hast  a  part ; — 
Still  to  some  unseen  hand,  or  gales  of  Heaven  replying. 
Whether  by  tuneful  sounds  afar  that  seem  to  grieve. 
On  some  Autumnal  quiet  eve, 
Or  touch'd  by  some  electric  chain  within 
Your  magic  chords  awaken  and  begin ; 
But  not  with  them  to  end. 
Till  with  wild  harmonies  our  being  blend. 
Well  might  they  fable  those  Aonian  daughters ; 

As  if  some  Heaven-sent  vision  from  above 
Descended  all  unseen,  and  stirr'd  your  healing  waters. 
Hail,  sounds  which  the  deep  spirit  move, 

Until  the  present  seems  at  naught 
In  the  realities  of  sterner  thought ; 
Around  us  come  the  dead  and  dying. 
And  all  the  silent  heart  with  pensive  scenes  is  sighing. 

Ye  distant  strains  that  fill  the  thoughtless  street, 
Upon  a  summer  evening,  sad  and  sweet, 
Where  some  wild  songstress  chaunts  her  descant  lone. 
Or  wilder  music  wakes  the  tuneful  bell. 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  79 

While  loitering  groups  are  gathering,  or  pass  on, 
How  little  do  ye  know  with  what  a  gale  it  falls 
Upon  some  Solitary  cell. 
And  all  the  past  recalls; 

While  dearest  friends  that  now  are  gone 
Do  seem  to  live  again. 
Hid  in  deep  worlds  that  are  your  sad  strain ; 
Then  all  within  in  sadness  swells, 
And  Memory  there  unseen  her  story  tells; 
Till  he  who  seem'd  an  unblench'd  eye  to  bear 
On  the  sad  tokens  of  life's  waning  year, 
And  all  things  passing  by, — 
His  heart  is  heaving  with  a  sigh, 
His  eye-lid  hath  a  tear. 

Lo,  all  around  your  vision  now  is  stealing, 
Where'er  we  turn  their  dim-veiled  forms  revealing; 
With  thoughts  of  those  once  loved  and  near, 
Whose  early  years  with  ours  were  blended. 
Whose  memories  have,  with  all  things  dear. 
Deep  in  the  heart  descended ; — 
A  mother's  love  which  o'er  our  Childhood  bended, 
And  all  our  youthful  steps  attended; 
Or  brother  lost,  whose  early  hours, 
Whose  thoughts  and  hopes  and  fears  were  ours; 
While  we  saw  all  things  with  his  eyes. 
Knit  in  still  growing  sympathies ; — 
Now  they  are  gone,  but  we  remain, 
Our  love  for  them  is  mix'd  with  pain ; 
Our  wonted  haunts  know  them  no  more; 
But  they  are  on  the  unseen  shore, 
And  draw  us  after  them,  as  with  a  silent  chain ; 

Thus  all  we  loved  make  wings,  and  leave  us  to  deplore. 

They  make  them  wings  and  fly  away. 
And  fairer  still  they  seem  as  we  behold  them  flying. 
Like  that  bright  bird  that,  glancing  on  the  stream. 
His  fairest  plumes  in  parting  doth  display: 


80  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

Or  when  on  woodland  hills  the  Autumnal  gleam 
Is  calmly  lying; 
And  while  in  golden  stillness  it  reposes, 
The  Autumnal  gale  is  sighing, 
And  'tween  the  withering  boughs   some   ancient  tower   dis- 
closes : 
While  on  ourselves  we  feel  that,  year  by  year, 
The  Autumnal  hand  is  stealing, 
And  through  the  alter'd  brow,  turn'd  pale  and  sere, 
The  Autumn  of  our  age  its  aspect  stern  revealing. 
When  evening  shades  their  solemn  gloom  are  flinging 

O'er  valleys  once  so  bright  and  fair, 
And  stilly  seen  upon  the  silent  air 
Some  bird  his  homeward  way  to  woodland  heights  is  winging. 

Through  cloistral  glades  what  shadows  round  us  steal 
Of  them  that  are  with  God? 
We  on  the  path  they  trod 
Live  in  their  thoughts  and  with  them  feel. 
And  learn  the  blest  communion 
Of  Saints  that  are  in  wisdom  one; 
Our  heart-pulse  is  to  theirs  replying, 
In  books  which  all  their  souls  reveal. 
And  all  the  breath  we  breathe  is  'mid  the  dead  and  dying. 
While  peace  and  calm  to  them  belong 
Our  life  unquiet  is,  and  fades; 
Shadows  we  are  and  wandering  amid  shades, 
As  they  who  walked  the  realms  below, 

With  that  famed  Florentine, 
Substances  amid  spirits  seen. 
Known  only  by  the  sabler  shade  they  throw  ;* 
Thus  'mid  the  dead,  where'er  we  go, 
Our  life  is  known  by  sure  companionship  of  woe. 

And  fast  as  we  ourselves  thus  fade, 
So  our  desires  are  from  us  stealing; 

What  once  seem'd  beck'ning  in  the  shade, 
And  still  before  a  beauteous  form  revealing, 

*  Dante's  Purgatorio,  Cant.  iii. 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  81 

Now  left  behind  its  worthlessness  we  rue ; 

But  something  else  we  now  pursue ; 
Which  fairer  still  each  day  now  comes  to  view ; 
But  that  soon  passes,  and  is  gone, 

And  we  are  left  alone. 
What  yesterday  had  seem'd  so  fair 
Seems  now  not  worth  pursuing; 
With  changing  life  our  longings  still  we  change. 

Through  all  the  weary  range, 
And  what  is  done  and  past  we  are  undoing: 
The  things  of  Heaven  alone  are  still  the  same. 
And  as  we  nearer  draw  more  eager  love  they  claim. 

Father  of  spirits,  far  from  Thee  we  roam. 
Thou  art  the  Unchangeable,  the  spirit's  home, 

And  in  all  things  but  those  that  come  from  Thee, 

The  never-resting  spirit  finds  a  tomb. 
Thine  aspirations,  e'en  while  here  we  flee, 

Are  drinking  of  the  hidden  springs. 
That  still  flow  on,  and  are  for  ever  flowing, 
That  love  alone  which  no  repentance  brings, 
But  to  the  last  is  growing; 
While,  all  that's  earthly  to  the  grave  is  going; 
But  they  o'er  grave  of  earthly  things  are  happier  thoughts 
bestowing. 

Spirits  departed,  ye  are  still. 
And  thoughts  of  you  our  lonely  hours  will  fill, — 
As  gales  wake  from  the  harp  a  language  not  their  own. 
Or  airs  Autumnal  raise  a  momentary  moan ; — 

Till  all  the  soul  to  thoughts  of  you  is  sighing, 
And  every  chord  that  slept  in  sadness  stern  replying. 
Where  are  ye  now  in  regions  blest. 
And  shores  of  lands  unknown, 
In  silence  and  at  rest. 
While  still  your  shadows  by  our  eyes  are  passing, 
And  all  the  lost  again  in  sable  colours  glassing? 
O  let  me  with  you  converse  keep 

On  the  Autumnal  eve. 
Or  in  the  quiet  midnight  deep : 

6— Vol.  X. 


83  the;  teachings  of'  the;  dead. 

There  is  a  solemn  sweetness  when  we  grieve, 
And  hoUer  wisdom  on  our  hearts  ye  leave; 
Better  than  all  the  talk  of  living  men, 
Which  in  their  frustrate  longings  still  again 
The  weary  round  of  earthly  things  pursue ! 
For  ye  full  well  the  value  know 
Of  all  things  here  below ; 
And  while  our  contemplations  dwell  with  you, 
We  learn  to  look  with  your  unsealed  eyes 
On  all  things  here  we  prize. 

O  Thou  great  God  unsearchable, 
Still  something  with  us  doth  abide  of  Thee, 
E'en  of  Thy  life  and  immortality; 

Whate'er  desires  the  panting  bosom  swell, 
It  is  that  blind  and  dark  for  Thee  we  seek. 
And  e'en  though  lost  in  sin 
There  something  is  within 
Which  of  a  better  birthright  seems  to  speak, 
While  naught  but  phantoms  vain  upon  it  gleam. 
Still  thoughts  of  Thee  within  us  breed, 
As  in  a  feverish  dream, 
As  in  a  dream  all  powerless,  blind,  and  weak. 
O  unto  Thee  our  spirits  lead, 
For  all  things  here  deceive. 
Allure  us  but  to  leave, 
And  leave  with  empty  hands  and  aching  heart  to  grieve. 

O  lead  us  unto  Thee,  the  hidden  well. 
Who  art  alone  immutable 
With  Thee  alone  there  hidden  are  on  high 

The  joys  that  satisfy: 
And  they  who  drink  of  joys  Thy  hand  supplies, 

They  shall  be  satisfied ; 
For  here  below,  whate'er  awhile  may  please. 

Nothing  there  is  that  satisfies ; 
The  immortal  spirit  still  can  find  no  ease, 
Unsatisfied,  unsatisfied. 
For  nothing  can  abide. 


the:  teachings  of  the  dead.  83 

Of  vanity,  of  vanity  each  age  to  age  is  crying, 
And  each  anew  the  self -same  strain  replying, 
And  all  repeats  the  strain  before  us  flying. 
To  this  sad  thought  their  notes  return, 
And  at  the  touching  theme  their  dying  spirits  burn. 
And  all  their  notes  of  sweetness 
Are  singing  of  fleetness, — 
Are  of  our  fleetness  sighing, 
And  singing  of  our  dying. 
And  every  gale  that  passes 

Is  turned  to  a  sigh. 
And  every  wave  but  glasses 
The  lesson,  we  must  die ; 
And  waves  and  gales  together  sing 
Of  this  our  daily  perishing. 

What  is  this  flood  of  sweetest  sound, 

That  bathed  me  all  around, 
Till  with  new  being  I  abound? 
O  sweet  as  evening,  beautiful  and  calm ; 
As  blue  skies  seen  'tween  the  dark-waving  palm ; 
As  fragrant  scents  around  me  breathing  balm; 
As  thoughts  that  speak  of  God  and  Heaven, 
Where  strife  and  war  afar  are  driven ! 
O  sweetest  tide, 
Which  speaks  the  good  beyond  the  clouds  of  time, 
Who  walk  in  your  angelic  chime ; 
While  all  their  souls  at  length  in  you  abide. 
O  tide  of  sweet  and  solemn  sounds  flow  on, 
Till  discord  finds  no  place,  and  all  is  union ! 

As  they  who  fabledf  shapes  of  poet's  dream, 

Deep  hid  in  sylvan  halls, 
Dryads  and  Naiads,  such  as  loved  to  tend. 

And  with  the  being  blend 

tHsec  loca  capripedes  Satyros  Nymphasque  tenere 
Finitimi  fingunt :  et  Faunos  esse  loquuntur, 
Quorum  noctivago  strcpitu,  ludoque  jocanti 
Adfirmant  volgo  taciturna  silentia  rumpi, 
Chordarumque   sonus   fieri,   dulcisque   querelas. 
Tibia  quas  fundit,  digitis  pulsata  canentum, 

LucRET.  IV.  556. 


84  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD, 

Of  woods  or  flowing  stream, 
And  answer'd  to  their  calls. 
Where  shepherd  oft,  at  solemn  eve  returning. 
Heard  sounds  melodious,  and  a  solemn  theme, 
Perchance  afar  some  glancing  form  discerning; 
While  woods  and  valleys  listen'd  to  the  song, 
And  Evening  seem'd  to  linger  sweet  and  long, 
Caught  by  the  enchanting  sound. 

When  sober  Reason  look'd  upon  the  scene. 
All  was  but  empty  air, 
And  nothing  to  be  found ; 
Some  yearning  of  the  immortal  spirit  came  between, 
And  dress'd  up  sounds  and  sights  so  fair, 
To  body  forth  her  longings  of  the  unseen. 
So  all  the  things  which  here  on  earth  have  been, 

Unreal  shadows  of  the  eye  and  ear, 
Stripp'd  of  their  soft  enchantment  disappear 
And  there  is  nothing  there. 
But  in  the  woods  they  seem  afar, 
Holding  sweet  converse  with  the  Evening  star; 

The  heart  is  listening  still, 
And  echoes  of  the  past  the  deepest  spirit  fill. 

The  music  now  hath  ceased  and  gone. 

Faint  and  more  faint  the  visions  come. 
And  leave  us  to  the  weary  world  alone ; 

Whene'er  amid  the  earth  we  roam. 

There  something  is  in  music's  tone, 

That  to  the  exile  seems  to  bring 
The  thoughts  of  his  lost  Paradise, 

Like  words  and  things,  from  distant  home. 

Unconsciously  they  touch  a  spring 

Which  in  the  secret  spirit  lies, 

As  wandering  from  their  parent  skies. 

What  worlds  with  you  are  come  and  flown ! 

Musical  sounds,  say,  what  are  ye? 
Whence  do  ye  come?  what  can  ye  be, 
That  ye  should  thus  our  inmost  being  move. 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD.  85 

vSpeaking  with  such  strange  language  all  your  own? 
Are  ye  wild  spirits,  wandering  from  above, 
That  unto  you  such  power  is  given  ? 
Or  are  ye  gales  which  here  have  strayed  from  Heaven, 
Come  from  the  place  where  all  the  past  is  stor'd. 

Waiting  the  awful  coming  of  the  Lord? 
And  therefore  when  o'er  us  your  spirit  steals 
It  all  the  past  reveals, 
Finds  access  to  the  secret  place  of  fears, 
And  lifts  the  shadows  of  long  buried  years. 
For  human  tongue  too  deep,  and  human  tears. 

But  not  alone  within  the  tuneful  wall, 

And  music-loving  cells : — 
All  far  aloof  from  spiral  summit  tall. 
Eddying  around  in  circuits  musical. 
The  aerial  sweetness  floats  and  swells 
Down  to  the  woodland  dells. 
And  wise  I  deem  the  Church  of  olden  times 
That  hallowed  your  sweet  bells,  which  from  their  towers 
Flung  out  such  spirit-moving  powers. 
In  flood  of  their  melodious  chimes. 
Well  might  she  consecrate  those  fountain  wells. 
Such  strength  of  sympathy  within  them  dwells, 
And  keeps  from  us  profane  and  vile. 
While  now,  alas !  pour'd  forth  from  sacred  pile. 
State-strifes,  home-jealousies,  take  up  the  hallow'd  strain, 
And  blended  with  the  airs  from  hell  upon  the  heart  remain. 

Ye  golden  streams  from  purer  worlds  o'er-flowing. 
Musical  sounds,  in  you  a  language  lies. 
Which  speaks  of  God's  eternal  harmonies. 
In  secret  Providence  around  us  going. 
Ye  speak  as  by  a  hidden  spell 
That  union  strange,  unspeakable. 
Of  the  eternal  City  in  the  skies. 
Therefore  in  Salem's  earthly  courts  were  found. 
Cymbal,  lute,  trumpet,  harp,  and  vocal  sound, 
And  steps  with  music  shod. 


86  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

With  harps  Angehc,  songs,  and  hallow'd  Hps, 
Heaven  is  reveal'd  in  dread  Apocalypse, 
Wherein  the  blessed  spirits  dwell  with  God. 

Whate'er  ye  be,  ye  speak  so  much  of  Heaven, 

That  at  your  sound  the  evil  spirit  flies. 

As  erst  we  read  in  holy  histories, 

He  from  the  stern  remorseful  King  was  driven. 

When  David  touched  the  soothing  minstrelsies : 

The  fiend  then  heard,  and  caught  the  preludes  deep 

Of  sounds  and  thoughts  harmonious,  which  begin 

In  Jesse's  son, — signals  precursive  given 

Of  that  sweet  music  which  his  Psalteries  keep. 

Cleansing  and  liberating  souls  from  sin. 

And  do  the  everlasting  refuge  win. 

Thus  through  our  sensual  avenues  ye  pour 

Treasures  of  wisdom.  Truth's  mysterious  store. 

All  bathed  and  blended  with  melodious  air. 

Into  the  unwilling  soul;  to  harbour  there. 

Breeding  serener  thoughts,  in  you  to  soar 

Above  the  reach  of  groveling  earthly  care. 

Therefore  ye  find  meet  place  in  hallow'd  shrine; 
Blending  sweet  grace  with  austere  discipline ; 
Since  that  dear  time  when  erst  the  shepherd  throng 

Upon  that  hallowed  even. 
Heard  strains  which  to  Angelic  hosts  belong, 
As  if  a  door  were  open'd  into  Heaven, 
And  pour'd  a  gleam  of  light  and  song. 
Of  glory,  joy,  and  love  eternal  realms  among. 
Such  are  the  melodies  of  new-born  peace. 
Which  then  began,  and  will  not  cease. 
Till  men  to  Angels  shall  respond,  and  all  to  praise  be  given. 

Flow  on,  flow  on  to  Heaven  from  whence  ye  rise, 
Ye  blessed  harmonies. 
And  waft  us  on  your  breast  unto  your  parent  skies; 
Attune  to  Heaven  our  laggard  feet. 

Attune  our  spirits  here  below 
To  order  and  obedience  meet. 


the;  teachings  of*  the  dead.  87 

Such  as  there  is  in  that  blest  seat 
From  whence  ye  flow. 

Obedience — it  is  love, 
And  where  love  is  is  harmony, 
Therefore  the  stars  that  range  above 
Throughout  the  infinite  in  order  roving, 

As  through  the  shoreless  space  they  fly, 
We  deem  to  thread  their  maze  to  music  high, 
In  some  melodious  measure  moving; 

And  all  we  know  of  Angels  blest 
Is  that  they  love  and  they  obey, 

And  sing  alway, 
Ever  singing,  ever  loving, 
In  the  mansion  of  their  rest, 
Around  the  throne  where  God  is  manifest. 
And  what  we  music  call  below 
Is  something  thence  that  doth  o'erflow, 
Like  a  golden  stream  of  light 
From  the  infinite; 
Here  in  matter  dull  unfolding 
And  our  earth-sick  hearts  upholding; 
And  tlierefore  like  electric  chain 
It  hath  a  power  in  souls  to  reign. 
And  rivet  with  a  sadness  sweet. 
Like  voices  come  to  exiles  lone  from  their  abiding  seat. 

Hence  it  hath  power  to  give  us  wings, — 
Wings  and  a  tongue  of  pure  desire. 
Harmonious  wings,  like  plumes  of  fire, 
Whereon  the  exiled  spirit  sings, 

In  her  sunrise  soaring  higher ; 
Happy,  happy,  happy  singing,    • 
Highest  heights  of  ether  winging. 
All  her  birth-right  round  her  bringing; 

Happy  heights  where  she  may  go. 

And  look  down  on  all  below, 

Only  voice  that  can  express 

Her  o'erflowing  thankfulness. 


88  the;  teachings  of  the  dead. 

Flow  on,  flow  on,  ye  hallow'd  solemn  measures. 
Mysterious  language  of  Angelic  peace, 

Still  singing  of  high  pleasures, 
And  long  the  lonely  soul  your  dying  accent  treasures. 
Flow  on,  flow  on,  and  never  cease. 
Till  all  is  peace  and  love  on  earth. 

And  man  be  turned  to  virtues  strong; 

And  mindful  of  your  awful  song 
Foregoes  his  low-bred  cares  and  mirth, 

In  thoughts  that  unto  you  belong. 
Flow  on,  flow  on,  ye  tones  of  sweetness, 
Till  all  the  discords  of  our  clime 
Be  swallow'd  in  your  march  sublime, 
Whereon  the  eternal  Bride  advances; 

Wherein  the  sorrows  of  our  fleetness, 
Widow'd  hopes,  and  evil  chances. 
Are  lost  in  the  eternal  chime. 

Lift  the  Ambrosian  hymn  sublime. 
Or  deep  Gregorian  chaunt  of  plaintive  underchime ; 
For  solemn,  deep,  and  awful-tones 
Must  be  the  sounds  that  speak  of  God, 
Of  Heaven  and  Hell,  of  Christ  in  Judgment  throned. 

And  of  the  path  the  Saints  have  trod. 
Sounds  worthy  of  the  words  the  Psalmist  sung, 
And  which  in  Christ  have  found  a  tongue. 

And  all  His  Saints  among; 
The  words  on  which  the  Martyrs'  prayers  ascended. 
Like  cars  of  steeds,  when  Angels  bended 
To  take  them  to  their  rest. 

Flow  on,  flow  on,  ye  tones  of  sadness 

Until  the  heart  hath  wept  her  stains  away, 

She  waketh  now  from  all  the  madness 

Which  o'er  her  spirit  hath  had  sway. 

And  seeks  a  place  to  weep. 
But  there  are  sounds  more  grave  and  deep, 
Which  conscience  shall  awaken  from  her  sleep; 
She  looks  around. 


the:  teachings  of  the  dead.  89 

Roused  from  the  spell  which  long  hath  bound, 
And  hears  the  Judgment-wheels  in  thunder  falling, 
While  nearer  as  they  draw,  like  lightning  now, 
The  Judge's  eye  the  heart  appalling. 
Brings  memory  forth  upon  the  brow. 

Ring  out,  ye  tones,  so  sad  and  long. 
With  that  deep  solemn  undersong. 
That  wakes  stern  grief  and  penitential  fear. 
Flow  on,  flow  on,  ye  tears  and  sighs ; 
Such  are  the  strains  most  meet 
For  them  who  in  their  exile,  long  and  drear, 
Sit  by  the  waves  of  Babylon's  proud  seat. 
While  Penitence  there  e'en  her  alter'd  brow  descries, 
Where  flood  of  light  upon  her  steals. 
And  all  the  unclean  heart  reveals ; 
O  wake  your  accents  sad,  and  solemn  closes, 

Until  the  soul  to  Angel  songs  may  rise. 
And  in  their  quiet  haven  it  reposes. 

Immortal  harmonies!  thence  Satan  stole 
Sweet  sounds  to  bathe  therein  the  captive  soul. 
Framing  bad  thoughts  to  imitate  your  strains. 
And  bind  his  prisoner  in  melodious  chains ; 
So  to  forget  his  miseries  within. 
And  deeper  and  more  deep  to  plunge  in  sin. 
For  such  the  sweetness  of  your  gentle  spell. 
That  e'en  the  influences  that  come  from  hell. 
In  your  disguise  seem  fair,  and  cheat  the  sight. 
Robed  in  the  many  colours  of  your  light. 
Stop  up  all  avenues,  and  close  my  ears, 
O  Spirit  pure,  redouble  all  my  fears ! 
Thus  takes  the  soul  her  hue  for  the  eternal  years. 

Strains  which  belong  to  City  of  the  skies. 
Ye  are  such  notes  as  Plato  deem'd 
Might  calm  and  cleanse  the  soul,  and  render  meet 
To  be  the  seat  of  virtuous  harmonies, 
In  that  famed  City  as  he  fondly  dream'd. 
Strains  fitly  framed  to  measured  tone  Divine, 


90  THE  TEACHINGS  OE  THE  DEAD. 

That  mould  to  high  celestial  discipline, 
And  tune  fit  tempers  to  their  cadence  sweet. 
Such  as  'neath  trees  of  life  at  Wisdom's  feet 
Sit  at  the  living  well,  which  from  above 
Flows  in  a  golden  shower  of  endless  love. 

Thus  Ambrose  with  the  hallow'd  song 
Built  up  the  citadel, 
Where  Truth  her  sacred  treasures  guarded  well. 
Strange  are  the  walls  to  you  belong, 
Melodious  songs  that  sing  and  swell ; 
Angelic  hands  to  build  your  spiritual  towers, 
In  men's  own  hearts  are  laid  your  powers, 
And  your  foundations  deep  and  strong. 


LIFE  A  TALE  THAT  IS  TOLD 


A  DISCOURSE 

BY 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 


Published  in 

The  North  Carolina  Presbyterian. 

1862. 


LIFE  A  TALE  THAT  IS  TOLD. 


Psalm  90 :  9. 

A  tale  is  composed  of  incidents  that  are  altogether  fictitious 
and  imaginary.  They  are  not  drawn  from  history,  providence 
or  God's  word.  They  are  created  by  the  writer  and  made  to 
conform  to  his  principles  and  purposes,  to  the  pleasure  of  the 
reader  and  the  profit  and  vanity  of  the  author.  And  is  not 
human  conduct  generally  founded  upon,  and  regulated  by 
false  principles,  to  which  all  the  events  and  opportunities  of 
life  are  conformed,  and  by  which  they  are  discolored  and  mis- 
interpreted, and  made  to  promote  our  own  personal  interests, 
purposes  and  pursuits.  And  these  principles  are  our  own. 
They  are  contrary  to  God's  word,  to  our  enlightened  con- 
science, to  universal  experience,  to  our  own  repeated  conclu- 
sions in  those  calm  and  solemn  moments  when  unsophisticated 
reason  gives  forth  its  cool  and  clear  decisions.  And  yet  while 
we  see  and  approve  the  better,  we  still  persistently  follow  the 
worse. 

One  of  these  false  and  delusive  principles  is  that  there  is  no 
observing  and  sin-punishing  God,  who  is  everywhere  present, 
sees  and  records  every  thing,  and  from  whom  even  the  secret 
thoughts  and  motives  of  our  hearts  are  not  hidden.  Men  live 
as  atheists  in  a  godless  world,  and  like  fools  say  in  their  heart 
there  is  no  God. 

Another  of  these  false  principles  by  which  men  are  always 
and  everywhere  deluded,  is  that  the  pleasures  of  sin  warrant 
and  repay  the  hazard  of  its  commission.  These  pleasures  are 
quickly  converted  into  pains,  both  physical  and  mental,  from 
which  relief  is  sought  in  the  repetition  of  carnal  indulgence 
until  reiterated  gratification  becomes  a  habit  and  the  seared 
conscience  loses  its  sensibilities,  and  remains  in  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances dormant  until,  like  a  strong  man  awoke  from 
sleep,  it  puts  on  the  fury  of  immitigable  despair. 

Another  delusive  principle,  to  which  men  submit  the  willing 
direction  of  their  lives,  is  that  the  things  of  this  world  form  a 
suitable  portion  for  man — forgetting  that  man,  as  an  immortal 
spirit,  comes  naked  into  this  world,  and  must  certainly  go 


96  LIFE  A  TALE  THAT  IS  TOLD. 

naked  out  of  it,  and  there  is  an  essential  difference  between 
spirit  and  matter,  which  becomes  a  great  and  unpassable  gulf 
of  separation  when  body  and  soul  are  torn  asunder  by  death. 

That  the  relations  in  which  we  stand  to  eternity  may,  with 
safety,  be  left  out  of  sight,  and  that  the  end  of  life  is  the 
proper  time  for  being  reconciled  to  God,  are  further  illustra- 
tions of  the  fictitious,  false  and  soul-destroying  principles 
which  lead  men  to  "spend  as  a  tale"  the  solemn  season  of  life, 
whose  one  great  business  is  to  seek  and  serve  God  and  be 
prepared  to  meet  Him  in  judginent  and  enjoy  Him  in  eternity. 

The  analogy  is  not  less  striking  and  instructive  when  we 
consider  that  a  tale  when  once  told  is  soon  forgotten.  It  is 
not  founded  in  facts.  It  cannot  become  history  or  constitute 
knowledge.  It  is  therefore  soon  washed  out  of  the  memory 
and  cast  away  unprofitable  and  useless,  like  salt  which,  how- 
ever stimulating  and  piquant  in  its  purity  and  power,  becomes, 
when  it  has  lost  its  savor,  only  fit  for  the  dunghill.  Thus  is 
it  with  life  as  it  is  too  generally  and,  in  its  largest  measure, 
universally  spent.  Its  incidents,  however  interesting  and 
exciting  at  the  time,  at  not  remembered.  No  record  is  pre- 
served of  one  in  thousands  of  them.  They  are  forgotten  as 
a  dream  dies  at  the  opening  day.  We  have  an  impression 
that  we  have  done  with  them.  We  are  anxious  to  escape  from 
the  feelings  of  sadness  or  soberness  awakened  by  them.  And 
engrossed  in  the  present,  and  anxious  or  eager  for  the  future, 
the  past  course  of  daily  life,  made  up  as  it  was  of  innumer- 
able events,  is  as  a  tale  that  is  told.  A  tale,  if  ingeniously 
fabricated  and  well  told,  is,  during  its  progress  and  develop- 
ment, very  entrancing.  It  binds  as  with  a  spell.  We  yield 
ourselves  to  its  magic  witchery,  and  live  in  the  intoxication 
of  its  unreal  life.  And  so,  alas,  are  we  now,  all  of  us,  swal- 
lowed up  in  the  excitement  of  the  pomp  and  pageantry  of  war, 
and  in  all  the  scenes  of  its  thrilling  and  pathetic  interest ;  daily 
passing  before  us,  as  its  evolving  panorama  opens  up  before 
us.  But  already  much  of  it  has  passed  away  and  is  as  a  tale 
that  was  told,  or  as  a  dream  of  the  night,  and  soon  to  all  of 
us,  and  to  our  children  after  us,  whatever  may  be  its  ultimate 
results,  it  will  all  have  become  with  all  its  departed,  and  now 
living  actors,  as  a  tale  that  is  told. 


LIFE  A  TAI,E  THAT  IS  TOLD.  97 

But  another  striking  analogy  between  human  life  and  a  tale 
that  is  told  is  the  apparent  brevity  and  seeming  abruptness  of 
its  unanticipated  close,  in  proportion  to  the  interest  awakened 
by  its  multiplied  and  rapid  vicissitudes.  Thus  life,  with  its 
daily  recurrence  of  engrossing  cares  and  eventful  changes,  is 
soon  ended,  often  very  soon,  and  always,  even  when  longest, 
apparently  transient  and  brought  to  an  unexpected  termina- 
tion in  the  midst  of  a  busy  throng  of  present  and  prospective 
schemes.  In  comparison  with  that  aged  tree  which  has 
weathered  the  storms  of  a  thousand  years,  or  of  that  crum- 
bling pile  of  ruined  walls  and  arches  hoary  with  the  moss  of 
centuries  or  hundreds  of  centuries,  or  of  the  everlasting  hills 
which  have  chronicled  the  birth  of  ages  and  cycles  of  ages, — 
how  ephemeral,  how  evanescent,  how  less  than  nothing  and 
vanity,  is  the  average  duration  of  human  life.  And  when  we 
remember  that  it  is  not  all  of  life  to  live  nor  all  of  death  to 
die,  and  contrast  this  present  probationary  and  preparatory 
state  with  the  endless  ages  of  eternity,  it  seems,  in  each  indi- 
vidual case,  to  be  no  more  than  the  little  rippling  rill  trickling 
from  the  mountain  side,  soon  to  be  lost  in  the  stream  which, 
like  a  whole  generation  of  men,  empties  itself  into  that  mighty 
river,  which  is  sweeping  forward  the  myriads  of  earth's  popu- 
lation into  the  boundless  ocean  of  eternity.  And  when  we 
consider  the  work  given  us  to  do  in  life,  the  one  great  business 
here  below,  a  soul  to  save,  a  God  to  glorify,  a  generation  to 
serve  according  to  the  will  of  God,  a  harvest  to  prepare  for 
the  ingathering  after  death,  oh !  how  short  and  yet  how  solemn 
and  momentous  is  that  little  span  in  which  nevertheless,  as  in 
a  seed,  is  wrapt  the  destiny  of  eternal  years. 

Such  a  tale  life  has  been  to  our  fathers,  friends  and  children 
who  have  gone  before  us.  Such  a  tale  is  told  by  the  poet  to 
every  reader  of  this  monitory  article. 

Once !   is  a  magic  spell, 

To  wake  a  train  of  thought ; 
To  bid  the  past  survive  again, 

The  present  be  forgot. 

Once  !  speaks  of  other  days. 

Of  hopes  and  fears  gone  by ; 
It  tells  of  pleasure's  banished  rays, 

And  proves  their  vanity. 

7— Vol.  X. 


98  LIFE  A  TALE  THAT  IS  TOLD. 

Once  !  tells  us  time  hath  flown, 

And  much  with  it  hath  fled  ; 
Once !  speaks  of  all  the  loved  or  known, 

The  absent,  changed,  or  dead. 

Once !  whispers  we  were  blest, 

But  turns  that  bliss  to  pain  ; 
Recalls  the  friends  we  once  possessed. 

The  hopes  we  nursed  in  vain. 

Once !  bids  us  to  be  wise, 

And  earthly  hopes  subdue  ; 
Since  all  that  here  can  charm  our  eyes. 

Once  charmed,  and  cheated  too. 

A  year  once  new,  and  heralded  by  the  merry  shout  of  happy 
children,  has  grown  old,  and  with  its  pleasures  and  hopes  and 
sorrows  has  passed  beyond  recall.  The  children  have  become 
older  with  the  old  year.  The  boy  has  become  a  man,  the  child 
a  youth,  the  girl  a  maiden,  the  maiden  a  wife,  and  the  wife  a 
mother,  and  another  generation  of  flowering  children  have 
hailed  the  welcome  season  of  gifts  and  holidays.  Thus  will 
this  year  also  grow  old,  and  a  new  year  be  born  and  grow  old, 
and  years  pass  on,  and  other  children  weave  garlands  for  other 
parents  on  succeeding  new  years,  and  will  be  "merry  as  a 
marriage  bell,"  while  the  swelling  joy  of  infant  hearts  rings 
out  "a.  happy  new  year,  a  happy  new  year." 

Years  pass  on  and  the  husband  is  gone,  and  the  wife  is 
gone;  father,  mother,  children,  kindred  are  gone.  All  have 
passed  away.  New  years  are  thus  like  mile-stones  on  our 
way,  or  like  chapters  in  the  tale  of  our  life.  We  notice  and 
count  them,  but  pass  by,  and  turn  over  with  eager  impatience 
to  reach  the  next,  as  if  anxious  to  reach  the  end  where  we 
shall  stop,  our  journey's  end,  the  winding  up  of  our  tale,  the 
year  that  will  never  grow  old,  eternity,  divided  from  this 
present  time  only  by  death. 

Three  score  and  ten  mile-stones  mark  out  the  allotted  jour- 
ney of  life.  But  how  few  pass  by  them  all,  and  complete  the 
rounded  tale  of  life.  The  children  who  at  the  first  mile-stone 
cried  out  in  exuberant  felicity  "a  happy  new  year,"  where  are 
they?  Ah,  how  many  voices  never  hail  the  second,  and  how 
few  the  last.  How  many  tales  are  broken  off  in  the  midst 
when  the  plot  is  woven  with  the  most  exciting  events.  How 
many  suns  set  while  it  is  yet  day.  Alas !  there  is  many  a  break 
in  the  band,  many  a  vacant  place  in  hearts  and  homes.     The 


LIFE  A  TALE  THAT  IS  TOLD,  99 

brother  is  gone,  and  the  sister  is  left  to  go  on  alone,  and  chill 
on  her  heart  fall  the  words  of  joy.  The  husband  has  gone 
down  to  the  grave  in  the  strength  of  manhood,  and  the  new- 
made  wife  is  a  widow.  Or  the  father  presses  to  his  heart 
the  infant  who  has  no  mother.  The  friend  who  was  as  our 
own  soul,  whose  love  to  us  was  wonderful,  passing  the  love 
of  woman,  comforts  us  no  more.     We  mourn  over 

Hopes  that  were  angels  in  their  birth, 
But  perished  young,  like  things  of  earth. 

Ere  half  our  mile-stones  are  past,  or  our  tale  told,  we  shrink 
from,  or  utter  coldly,  the  once  so  pleasant  words  of  gratula- 
tion.  Oh!  how  many  changes,  how  many  blanks,  how  many 
empty  chairs  and  solitary  chambers ! 

From   life's  shining  circle. 
The  gems  drop  away. 

Is  life  then  as  false  as  it  is  fleeting?  Oh  no.  Be  happy, 
is  the  voice  of  God.  Be  joyful,  says  our  Lord  and  Saviour. 
If  grief  is  in  all  your  joy,  there  may  be  joy  in  all  your  grief, 
joy  through  tears  stealing,  and  hope  springing  phoenix  like 
from  the  ashes  of  our  dead. 

Chance  and  change  are  busy  ever. 

Friends  depart  and  ages  move, 
But  the  Saviour  changeth  never. 

He  is  light  and  life  and  love. 

"God  is  good,  His  mercy  brighteneth 
All  the  way  in  which  we  move  ; 
Bliss  He  sends,  and  woe  He  lighteneth  ; 
God  is  light,  and  God  is  love." 

Say,  then,  dear  reader, 

"I  would  not  have  a  wish, 

But  what's  conformed  to  Thine, 
For  all  Thy  purposes  are  rich 
In  grace  and  truth  divine." 

With  the  old  Patriarch,  we  may  say  "me  ye  have  bereaved ; 
Joseph  is  not,  and  Simeon  is  not,  and  ye  will  take  Benjamin 
away ;  all  these  things  are  against  me."  But  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  in  our  hearts  says,  "even  so,  Father,  for  so  it  seemed 
good  in  Thy  sight." 

Fellow-traveller,  "lift  up  thine  eyes  and  look  from  the  place 
where  thou  art,"  and  look  toward  the  place  of  which  Christ 
has  told  us,  which  He  has  gone  to  prepare  for  us.  Lift  up 
your  heads,  for  behold,  your  redemption  draweth  nigh. 


100  LIFE  A  TALE  THAT  IS  TOLD. 


'Come,  brothers,  let  us  onward ; 

Night  comes  without  delay. 
And  in  this  howling  desert 

It  is  not  good  to  stay. 

Take  courage,  and  be  strong. 
We  are  hastening  on  to  heaven ; 
Strength  for  warfare  will  be  given, 

And  glory  won  ere  long. 

'The  pilgrim's  path  of  trial 

We  do  not  fear  to  view  ; 
We  know  His  voice  who  calls  us. 

We  know  Him  to  be  true. 

Then  let  who  will  contemn, 
But,  strong  in  His  almighty  grace. 
Come  every  one  with  steadfast  face 

On  to  Jerusalem. 

'Oh,  brothers,  soon  is  ended 

The  journey  we've  begun  ; 
Endure  a  little  longer. 

The  race  will  soon  be  run. 

And  in  the  land  of  rest — 
In   yonder  bright  eternal   home, 
Where  all  the  Father's  loved  ones  come. 

We  shall  be  safe  and  blest. 

'Then  boldly  let  us  venture ; 

This,  this  is  worth  the  cost. 
Though  dangers  we  encounter. 

Though  everything  is   lost. 

Oh,  world,  how  vain  they  call ! 
We  follow  Him  who  went  before, 
We  follow,  to  the  eternal  shore, 

Jesus,  our  all  in  all."  T.  S. 


Counsel  and  Comfort  for  Afflicted 
Believers. 


A  SERIES  OF  ARTICLES 

BY 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 


Published  in 
The  New  Orleans  and  Southern  Presbyterian. 


COUNSEL  AND   COMFORT   FOR   AFFLICTED 
BELIEVERS. 


No.  I. — Afflictions  thf  Portion  of  Every  Beuever. 

"Man  that  is  born  of  a  woman  is  of  few  days  and  full  of 
trouble."  "There  is  or  needs  be  that  we  should  be  afflicted." 
IVe  ourselves  are  under  the  curse  that  came  upon  us  in  con- 
sequence of  the  fall  of  Adam,  who  was  our  representative 
and  head;  "for  by  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world  and 
death" — that  is,  all  the  evils  that  can  afflict  our  bodies,  our 
minds,  and  our  souls,  here  and  hereafter,  "by  sin,  and  so 
death,"  in  all  these  forms  of  evil,  "passed  upon  all  men,  for 
that  all  have  sinned."  The  earth,  too,  in  its  laws,  its  atmos- 
phere, and  its  barrenness,  and  its  thousand  sources  of  death, 
is  "cursed  for  man's  sake,  so  that  in  sorrow  we  eat  of  it  all 
the  days  of  our  life ;"  and  still  further,  "we  know  that  the 
whole  creation  groaneth  and  travaileth  in  pain  together  until 
now."  The  universal  cry  is,  "Oh  wretched  man  that  I  am, 
who  shall  deliver  me  from  this  body  of  death!"  "Many  are 
the  afflictions  of  the  righteous,"  though  the  Lord  delivereth 
them  out  of  them  all,"  for  we  ourselves  who  have  the  first 
fruits  of  the  Spirit,  even  we  ourselves  groan  within  ourselves 
waiting,  for  the  adoption,  to  wit,  the  redemption  of  our  bodies. 
For  we  are  saved  by  hope.  The  Spirit  also  helpeth  our 
infirmities."  None  ever  have  been  so  good,  or  so  wise,  or  so 
great,  as  to  be  above  the  reach  of  trouble.  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord,  an  example  of  sinless  and  perfect  humanity,  was  "a 
man  of  sort-ows  and  acquainted  with  grief,  and  made  perfect 
through  suffering."  From  this  there  is  no  exemption ;  "there 
is  no  discharge  in  this  warfare."  In  one  way  or  another, 
either  in  mind,  body  or  estate,  all  are  afflicted.  So  that  even 
the  most  apparently  prosperous  have  their  inward  calamities, 
and  their  heart  knoweth  its  own  bitterness,  even  though  a 
stranger  intermedleth  not  therewith."  And  these  inward 
trials  are  often  the  most  severe,  for  "any  man  can  bear  his 
outward  infirmities,  but  a  wounded  spirit  who  can  bear." 


106        COUNSSI,  AND  COMFORT  FOR  AFFLICTE;d  BEUEVERS. 

Of  all  men,  they  are  least  to  be  envied  who  enjoy  health  and 
wealth ;  who  have  abundance  of  this  world's  goods,  and  thus 
receive  their  portion  in  this  life,  and  yet  how  many,  like  the 
Psalmist,  have  indulged  in  hard  and  unbelieving  thoughts, 
saying : 

"But  as  for  me,  my  feet  were  almost  gone ;  my  steps  had 
well  nigh  slipped.  For  I  was  envious  at  the  foolish,  when  I 
saw  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked.  For  there  are  no  bands  in 
their  death :  but  their  strength  is  firm.  They  are  not  in 
trouble  as  other  men ;  neither  are  they  plagued  like  other  men. 
Therefore  pride  compasseth  them  about  as  a  chain;  violence 
covereth  them  as  a  garment.  Their  eyes  stand  out  with  fat- 
ness: they  have  more  than  heart  could  wish.  For  all  the  day 
long  have  I  been  plagued,  and  chastened  every  morning." 

But  oh,  like  the  Psalmist,  may  God  enable  us  from  experi- 
ence to  say, 

"If  I  say,  I  will  speak  thus:  behold,  I  should  offend  against 
the  generation  of  Thy  children.  When  I  thought  to  know 
this,  it  ivas  too  painful  for  me.  Until  I  went  into  the  sanctu- 
ary of  God ;  then  understood  I  their  end.  Surely  Thou  didst 
set  them  in  slippery  places ;  thou  castedst  them  down  into 
destruction.  How  are  they  brought  into  desolation,  as  in  a 
moment !  they  are  utterly  consumed  with  terrors.  As  a  dream 
when  one  awaketh ;  so,  O  Lord,  when  Thou  awakest,  Thou 
shalt  despise  their  image.  Thus  my  heart  was  grieved,  and 
I  was  pricked  in  my  reins.  So  foolish  was  I,  and  ignorant; 
I  was  as  a  beast  before  Thee.  Truly  God  is  good  to  Israel, 
even  to  such  as  are  of  a  clean  heart."  T.  S. 


No.  II. — The  True  Source  of  Comfort. 

"Many  say  who  will  show  us  any  good." 

All,  however,  seek  it  where  it  is  not  to  be  found — in  health, 
in  wealth,  in  friends,  in  the  world,  in  something  here  below. 
But  the  universal  experience  of  man  is  that  "all  is  vanity  and 
vexation  of  spirit."  "There  is  a  path  which  no  fowl  knoweth, 
and  which  the  vulture's  eyes  hath  not  seen.  The  lion's  whelps 
have  not  trodden  it,  nor  the  fierce  lion  passed  by  it.  But 
where  shall  wisdom  be  found?  and  where  is  the  place  of 


COUNSEL,  AND  COMFORT  FOR  AFFUCTED  BEUEVERS.         107 

understanding?  The  depth  saith,  It  is  not  in  mc;  and  the  sea 
saith,  It  is  not  ivith  me.  Destruction  and  Death  say,  IVe 
have  heard  the  fame  thereof  with  our  ears."  Oh  yes !  in  the 
death  of  the  Son  of  God ;  in  the  destruction  of  "the  Lamb  of 
God  who  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world ;"  in  the  shedding 
of  His  blood ; — there  is  remission  of  sins,  there  is  peace  for 
the  troubled,  joy  for  the  distressed,  hope  for  the  disconsolate, 
comfort  for  the  mourning,  and  everlasting  life  and  joy  for 
those  who  journey  in  sadness  and  yet  in  faith  through  this 
vale  of  tears.  In  His  death  there  is  life ;  in  His  life  there  is 
righteousness;  in  His  resurrection  there  is  hope;  in  His 
exaltation  there  is  assurance ;  in  His  intercession  there  is  the 
pledge  of  repentance,  pardon,  remission  of  sins,  present  sup- 
port and  everlasting  rest;  in  His  cross  there  is  the  destruction 
of  sin,  death,  Satan  and  hell,  and  the  perfect  deliverance  from 
fear,  guilt,  dejection,  deformity,  and  woe.  Oh  yes!  we  are 
complete  in  Christ.  He  is  made  unto  us  of  God  wisdom,  and 
righteousness,  and  sanctification,  and  complete  redemption." 
To  all  who  come  unto  Him  He  gives  rest" — rest  from  sin,  rest 
from  a  troubled  conscience,  rest  from  anxious  solicitude  about 
the  future,  and  rest  from  all  vain  desires  after  earthly  good. 
He  unveils  to  them  celestial  blessedness;  points  them  to  an 
inheritance  beyond  the  grave,  reserved  in  heaven  for  them 
that  love  Him ;  sets  their  affections  on  things  above ;  imparts 
to  them  peace  and  quietness  and  assurance ;  teaches  them  "in 
whatsoever  state  they  are  therewith  to  be  content;"  "makes 
every  thing  to  work  together  for  their  good,"  and  comforts 
them  with  the  assurance  that  their  present  "light  afflictions 
shall  work  "out  for  them  an  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of 
glory."  Personal  religion  is  therefore  the  sovereign  remedy 
for  every  woe.  "Blessed  are  they  that  mourn,"  if  in  the  day 
of  trouble  they  seek  the  true  Comforter — that  refuge  which 
has  never  failed  to  prove  "a  very  present  help  in  time  of 
trouble."  T.  S. 


No.  HI. — Afflictions  Designed  to  Bring  Us  to  Christ. 

"Afflictions,  when  received  in  a  proper  spirit,  tend  to  bring 
us  to  Christ.     Christ  has  unspeakable  and  everlasting  bless- 


108         COUNSEL  AND  COMFORT  FOR  AFFUCTliD  BELIFVERS. 

ings  to  bestow, — such  as  the  world  can  neither  give  nor  take 
away;  such  as  are  sufficient  to  pour  that  oil  of  gladness  into 
our  souls,  which  will  swim  above  the  waves  of  an  earthly 
tribulation.  But  are  we  not  most  unhappily  indolent  and 
inattentive  to  these  blessings,  in  the  gay  hours  of  an  uninter- 
rupted prosperity?  It  is  very  observable,  that  scarce  any 
made  application  to  our  divine  Redeemer  in  the  days  of  His 
abode  with  us,  but  the  children  of  affliction.  The  same  spirit 
of  supineness  still  possesses  mankind.  We  undervalue,  we 
disregard  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  the  unspeakable  privileges  of 
His  gospel,  while  all  proceeds  smoothly,  and  nothing  occurs 
to  discompose  the  tenor  of  our  tranquility.  But  when  mis- 
fortunes harass  our  circumstances,  or  sorrows  oppress  our 
minds,  then  we  are  willing,  we  are  glad,  we  are  earnest,  to 
find  rest  in  Christ." 

Then  shall  ye  call  upon  me,  and  ye  shall  go  and  pray  unto 
me,  and  I  will  hearken  unto  you.  And  ye  shall  seek  me,  and 
find  me,  when  ye  shall  search  for  me  with  all  your  heart." 

"Afflictions,"  says  Baxter,  "are  God's  most  effectual  means 
to  keep  us  from  losing  our  way  to  our  heavenly  rest.  With- 
out this  hedge  of  thorns  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left,  we 
should  scarcely  keep  in  the  way  to  heaven.  If  there  be  but 
one  gap  open,  how  ready  are  we  to  find  it,  and  turn  out  at  it ! 
When  we  grow  wanton,  or  worldly,  or  proud,  how  doth  sick- 
ness, or  other  affliction,  reduce  us !  Every  Christian,  as  well 
as  Luther,  may  call  affliction  one  of  his  best  school-masters, 
and  with  David  may  say,  'Before  I  was  afflicted,  I  went 
astray;  but  now  have  I  kept  Thy  word.'  Many  thousand 
recovered  sinners  may  cry,  'O  healthful  sickness!  O  com- 
fortable sorrows !  O  gainful  losses  !  O  enriching  poverty ! 
O  blessed  day  that  ever  I  was  afflicted!'  Not  only  the  green 
pastures  and  still  waters,  but  the  rod  and  staff,  they  comfort 
us.  Though  the  Word  and  Spirit  do  the  main  work,  yet 
sufferings  so  unbolts  the  door  of  the  heart,  that  the  Word  hath 
easier  entrance." 

Afflictions  therefore  are  a  means  of  grace  and  salvation,  and 
are  evidence  of  love ;  for  "whom  the  Lord  loveth  He  chasten- 
eth  and  scourgeth  every  child  whom  He  receiveth." 


COUNSEL  AND  COMFORT  FOR  AFFLICTED  BELIEVERS.         109 

The  path  of  sorrow,  and  that  path  alone, 
Leads  to  the  land  where  sorrow  is  unknown. 

To  endeavor,  therefore,  to  know  the  divine  will  in  your 
affliction,  is  the  first  duty,  and  to  obey  it  the  second,  so  that 
the  essential  spirit  and  life  of  a  Christian  is  comprhended  in 
the  prayer,  "Thy  will  be  done."  Afflicted  Christian !  God  has 
taught  you  what  is  His  will  by  sending  your  trials  upon  you. 
Let  it  then  be  your  present  aim  by  prayer  to  Him  to  submit 
to  it  with  patience,  resignation,  hope  and  joy. 

If  any  hard  affliction  hath  surprised  thee,  "cast  one  eye  upon 
the  hand  that  sent  it ;  and  the  other  upon  the  sin  that  brought 
it ;  if  thou  thankfully  receive  the  message,  He  that  sent  it  will 
discharge  the  messenger." 

It  is  a  piece  of  that  corruption  which  runneth  through 
human  nature,  that  we  naturally  prize  truth  more  than  good- 
ness, knowledge  more  than  holiness.  We  think  it  a  gallant 
thing  to  be  fluttering  up  to  heaven,  with  our  wings  of  knowl- 
edge and  speculation :  whereas,  the  highest  mystery  of  a  divine 
life  here,  and  of  perfect  happiness  hereafter,  consisteth  in 
nothing  but  mere  obedience  to  the  Divine  Will.  Happiness 
is  nothing  but  that  inward,  sweet  delight,  that  will  arise  from 
the  harmonious  agreement  between  our  wills  and  God's  will. 

Whene'er  affliction   o'er  thee   sheds 

Its  influence  malign, 
Then,  sufferer,  be  the  prophet's  prayer 

And  prompt  obedience  thine. 
'Tis  but  at  Marah's  fount,  ordained, 

Thy   faith   in   God  to  prove. 
And  prayer  and  resignation  shall 

Its  bitterness  remove. 


No.  IV. — A  String  of  Pearls  for  the  Afflicted  Believer. 

"Bind  Them  About  Thy  Neck." — Cast  thyself  upon  God, 
for  His  power  is  equal  to  His  love,  and  He  knows  better  than 
thyself,  or  we  can,  what  is  proper  and  expedient  for  thee.  In 
due  time  He  will  cause  thy  pains  to  cease,  and  will  take  His 
thorn  from  thy  flesh.  Either  He  will  drive  from  thee  the 
spirit  of  infirmity  that  afflicts  thee,  or  else  He  will  make  His 
strength  perfect  in  thy  weakness.  He  will  indue  thee  wdth 
so  much  patience,  arm  thee  with  such  consistency,  and  fill  thee 
with  such  extraordinary  joy  and  consolation,  that  every  one 


110        COUNSEL  AND  COMFORT  FOR  AFFLICTED  BELIFVFRS. 

shall  visibly  perceive  that  God  Himself  is  thy  helper,  and  that 
His  strength  sustains  thee.  O,  how  sweet  and  pleasant  is 
God's  assistance  to  a  Christian  soul!  It  brings  with  it  such 
vast  and  precarious  delights;  it  causeth  such  undeniable  testi- 
monials of  our  adoption  to  shine  forth;  it  gives  us  such  a 
transporting  earnest  of  our  celestial  inheritance,  such  a  ravish- 
ing foretaste  of  paradise,  that  St.  Paul  prefers  it  not  only  to 
all  the  riches,  pleasures  and  honors  of  the  world,  but  also  to 
his  being  caught  up  to  the  third  heavens,  where  he  heard 
unspeakable  words,  which  it  is  not  lawful  for  a  man  to  utter. 

Even  a  nurse,  whose  child's  imperfect  peace 

Can  hardly  lead  his  foot  from  place  to  place, 

Leaves  her  fond  kissing,  sets  him  down  to  go, 

Nor  does  uphold  him  for  a  step  or  two ; 

But  when  she  finds  that  he  begins  to  fall. 

She  holds  him  up,  and  kisses  him  withal — 

So  God  from  man  sometimes  withdraws  His  hand 

Awhile,  to  teach  his  infant  faith  to  stand; 

But  when  He  sees  his  feeble  strength  begin 

To  fail,  He  gently  takes  him  up  again. 

"His  path  is  in  the  great  waters,  and  His  footsteps  are  not 
known;  His  judgments  are  unsearchable,  and  His  ways  past 
finding  out."  But  it  certainly  befits  erring  and  guilty  creatures 
to  be  submissive  when  they  cannot  comprehend.  We  know 
not  what  is  best  for  us:  we  know  only  that  adversity  may 
humble  us,  and  that  prosperity  may  elate  and  undo  us.  We 
know  that  when  God  wraps  Himself  in  the  terrors  of  His 
darkness,  the  morning  of  joy  may  be  rising,  and  that  when  the 
sky  is  filled  with  the  stars  of  hope,  the  abyss  of  destruction 
may  open  under  our  feet.  But  whether  we  know  or  know 
not,  it  is  most  unreasonable  to  complain  of  that  unequal  dis- 
tribution of  suffering,  the  end  of  which  we  cannot  compre- 
hend, while  it  is  certain  that  the  measure  which  ourselves 
endure,  be  it  small  or  great,  is  a  just  infliction. 

Some  there  are  who  seem  exempted 

From  the  doom  incurred  by  all  ; 
Are  they  not  more  solely  tempted  ? 

Are  they  not  the  first  to  fall? 
As  a  mother's  firm  denial 

Checks  her  infant's  wayward  mood. 
Wisdom  lurks  in  every  trial — 

Grief  zvas  sent  thee  for  thy  good. 
In  the  scenes  of  former  pleasure. 

Present  anguish  has  thou  felt? 
O'er  thy   fond   heart's   dearest  treasure, 

As  a  mourner  hast  thou  knelt? 


COUNSEL  AND  COMFORT  FOR  AFFUCTED  BEUFVFRS.         Ill 

In  the  hour  of  deep  affliction, 

Let  no  impious  thought  intrude — 
Meekly  bow  with  this  conviction, 

Grief  mas  sent  thee  for  thy  good. 

"God  doth  but  cast  us  down,  to  raise  us  up;  and  empty  us, 
that  He  may  fill  us;  and  melt  us,  that  we  may  be  vessels  of 
glory;  loving  us  as  well  in  the  furnace,  as  when  we  are  out, 
and  standing  by  us  all  the  while." 

"To  reveal  to  the  mourner  such  discoveries  of  the  supreme 
Being  as  the  Christian  religion  affords,  is  to  reveal  to  him  a 
Father  and  a  Friend ;  is  to  let  in  a  ray  'of  the  most  cheering 
light  upon  the  darkness  of  the  human  estate.  He  who  before 
was  a  destitute  orphan,  wandering  in  the  inhospitable  desert, 
has  now  gained  a  shelter  from  the  bitter  and  inclement  blast. 
He  now  knows  to  whom  to  pray,  and  in  whom  to  trust ;  where 
to  unbosom  his  sorrows,  and  from  what  hand  to  look  for 
relief." 


No.  V. — Bracelets  of  Pearls  for  Afflicted  Believers. 
"Bind  Them  About  Thine  Arms." 

"Happy,  thrice  happy,  he  who  relies  on  the  promises  and 
disclosures  of  the  Bible ;  who  believes,  as  the  loved  fall  one 
after  one  from  his  side,  that  they  have  returned  to  their  native 
country ;  who  feels  that  each  treasure  of  knowledge  he  attains, 
he  carries  with  him  through  illimitable  being;  who  sees  in 
virtue  the  essence  and  the  elements  of  the  world  he  is  to 
inherit.  He  comforts  his  weariness  amid  the  storms  of  time, 
by  seeing,  far  across  the  melancholy  seas,  the  heaven  he  will 
reach  at  last ;  he  deems  that  every  struggle  has  its  assured 
reward,  and  every  sorrow  has  it  balm ;  he  knows,  however 
forsaken  or  bereaved  below,  that  he  never  can  be  alone,  and 
never  deserted ;  that  above  him  is  the  protection  of  eternal 
power,  and  the  mercy  of  eternal  love !  Ah,  well  said  the 
dreamer  of  philosophy,  'How  much  He  knew  of  the  human 
heart,  who  first  called  God  our  Father !' 

Tho'  rising  grief  distress  my  soul. 

And  tears  on  tears  successive  roll. 

And  silent  memory  weep  alone 

O'er  hours  of  peace  and  gladness  flown  ; 

Ah,  why  by  passing  clouds  opprest, 

Should  vexing  thoughts  distract  my  breast ; 


113        COUNSEL  AND  COMFORT  FOR  AFFLICTED  BELIEVERS. 

Turn,  turn  to  Him  in  every  pain, 
Whom  never  suppliant  sought  in  vain  ; 
My   strength   in   joy's  exstatic   day, 
My  hope  when  joy  has  passed  away. 

Blessed  is  the  man  that  trusteth  in  the  Lord,  and  whose 
hope  the  Lord  is." 

In  my  judgment,  says  Hannah  More,  one  of  the  best  proofs 
that  sorrow  has  had  its  right  effect,  is,  that  it  has  not  incapaci- 
tated for  business ;  your  business  being  duties.  Under  the 
pressure  of  heavy  affliction  it  is  soothing  to  the  heart  to  sink 
down  into  the  enjoyment  of  a  kind  of  sad  indulgence,  and  to 
make  itself  believe  that  this  is  as  right  as  it  is  gratifying; 
especially  while  it  mixes  some  pious  thoughts  with  this 
unprofitable  tranquility.  But  who  can  say,  even  after  the 
severest  loss,  I  have  no  duties,  no  cares  in  life  remaining. 
Much  less  can  a  tender  mother  say  it,  who  has  still  so  many 
looking  to  her  advice,  and,  what  is  almost  more,  to  her 
example.  It  is  not  the  smallest  part  of  the  good  that  you 
may  do  them,  to  let  them  see  what  effect  great  trials  have  upon 
your  mind,  and  that  Christianity  enables  you  to  bear  up 
against  such  a  stroke.  It  is  an  excellent  sign  that,  after  the 
cares  and  labors  of  the  day,  you  can  return  to  your  pious 
exercises  and  meditations  with  undiminished  attention.  This 
will  be  a  good  criterion  by  which  to  judge  of  your  state. 

Father,  I  bless  thy  gentle  hand  ; 
How  kind  was  thy  chastizing  rod. 
That  forced  my  conscience  to  a  stand. 
And  brought  my  wand'ring  soul  to  God ! 
Foolish  and  vain,  I  went  astray ; 
Ere  I   had  felt  thy  scourges,  Lord, 
I  left  my  guide  and  lost  my  way ; 
But  now  I  love  and  keep  thy  word. 
'Tis  good  for  me  to  wear  the  yoke, 
For  pride  is  apt  to  rise  and  swell ; 
'Tis  good  to  bear  my  Father's  stroke. 
That  I  might  kam  His  statutes  well. 

"Say  not,  there  is  no  sorrow  like  your  sorrow.  You  have 
lost,  perhaps,  one  child ;  but  Aaron  lost  two,  and  Job  all ;  and 
lost  them  by  an  immediate,  instantaneous  stroke  of  God.  The 
children  of  some  pious  parents  have  died  victims  to  public 
justice.  Others  have  lived  to  sin  so  grievously,  that  their 
broken-hearted  parents  were  ready  to  wish  they  had  died  from 
the  womb.  A  third  class  have  experienced  such  protracted 
and  intolerable   sufferings  on  a  sick  bed,  that  even  a   fond 


COUNSEL  AND  COAIl'ORT  FOR  AFFLICTF.D  BEUEVERS.         113 

mother  has  wished  and  prayed  for  the  closing  moment.  O 
think  of  these  things,  and  acknowledge  that  your  lot  has  been 
comparatively  merciful." 

"The  faith  of  believers  overcomes  the  world  by  spreading 
over  it  the  bright  shadowing  of  'better  things  to  come.'  No 
darkness  or  sorrowing  moves  them  out  of  their  course  of  duty 
or  stays  them  in  it ;  like  the  moon,  when  she  suffers  an  eclipse, 
they  continue  on,  losing  no  motion  and  no  order,  till  they 
regain  the  presence  and  glory  of  which  they  are  deprived. 
As  shaken  trees  root  deeper,  as  the  blast  that  beats  down  the 
flame  causes  it  to  rise  higher,  so  they,  when  brought  low  by 
adversity,  mount  upwards,  or  bind  themselves  closer  to  the 
rock  they  are  resting  on." 

"Good  may  come  out  of  affliction.  You  should  be  far  more 
desirous  of  obtaining  that  good,  than  of  getting  rid  of  the  evil 
under  which  you  suffer.  It  is  not  necessary  that  your  sorrow 
cease.  It  is  necessary  that  it  be  sanctified.  God  has  brought 
you  unto  the  house  of  mourning,  that  'by  the  sadness  of  the 
countenance  the  heart  may  be  made  better.'  See  to  it,  that 
you  here  gather  some  of  the  ripe  clusters,  the  peaceable  'fruit 
of  righteousness.'  Nothing  but  dreadful  unbelief  and  wicked- 
ness can  hinder  the  affliction  from  being  one  of  God's  choice 
and  rich  blessings."  "The  sufferings  of  this  present  time  are 
not  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory  which  shall  be 
revealed  in  us."  "My  son,  despise  not  the  chastening  of  the 
Lord ;  neither  be  weary  of  His  correction ;  for  whom  the  Lord 
loveth  He  correcteth;  even  as  a  father  the  son  in  whom  he 
delighteth. 

"It  is  unthankfulness  to  forget  our  consolation,  and  to  look 
only  upon  matters  of  grievance ;  to  think  so  much  upon  two  or 
three  crosses,  as  to  forget  a  hundred  blessings." 

"As  the  snowdrop  comes  amid  snow  and  sleet,  appearing 
as  the  herald  of  the  rose,  so  Religion  comes  amid  the  blight 
of  affliction,  to  remind  us  of  a  perpetual  summer,  where  the 
bright  sun  never  retires  behind  a  wintry  cloud." 

O   Saviour !   whose   mercy,  severe  in   its   kindness. 
Has  chasten'd  my  wand'rings  and  guided  my  way, 

Ador'd  be  the  pow'r  which   illumin'd  my  blindness, 
And  wean'd  me  from  phantoms  that  smil'd  to  betray. 

8— Vol.  X. 


114        COUNSEI,  AND  COMFORT  FOR  AFFl^ICTED  BFLIEVFRS. 


Enchanted  with  all  that  was  dazzling  and  fair, 
I  follow'd  the  rainbow, — I   caught  at  the  toy ; 

And  still  in  displeasure  Thy  goodness  was  there, 
Disappointing  the  hope  and  defeating  the  joy. 

The  blossom  blushed  bright,  but  a  worm  was  below  ; 

The  moonlight  shone  fair,  there  was  blight  in  the  beam 
Sweet  whisper'd  the  breeze,  but  it  whisper'd  of  woe ; 

And  bitterness  flow'd  in  the  soft-flowing  stream. 

So,  cur'd  of  my  folly,  yet  cur'd  but  in  part, 
I  turn'd  to  the  refuge  Thy  pity  display'd  ; 

And  still  did  this  eager  and  credulous  heart 

Weave  visions  of  promise  that  bloom'd  but  to  fade. 

I  thought  that  the  course  of  the  pilgrim  to  heaven 

Would  be  bright  as  the  summer,  and  glad  as  the  morn  ; 

Thou  show'dst  me  the  path, — it  was  dark  and  uneven. 
All  rugged  with  rock,  and  all  tangled  with  thorn. 

I  dream'd  of  celestial  rewards  and  renown, 

I  grasp'd  at  the  triumph  which  blesses  the  brave, — 

I  ask'd  for  the  palm-branch,  the  robe  and  the  crown, 
I  ask'd — and  Thou  show'dst  me  a  cross  and  a  grave. 

Subdu'd  and  instructed,  at  length,  to  Thy  will, 
My  hopes  and  my  longings  I  fain  would  resign  ; 

Oh  give  me  the  heart  that  can  wait  and  be  still, 
Nor  know  of  a  wish  or  a  pleasure  but  Thine ! 


No.  VI. — Counsels  to  Afflicted  Believers. 

Thus,  reader,  have  I  strung  together  some  pearls  which  may 
prove  to  be  of  great  price  if  you  treasure  them  up  in  thy 
heart,  and  dwell  upon  them  in  thy  hours  of  darkness. 

But  that  you  may  be  able  to  apply  these  consolations  to  good 
purpose  under  affliction ;  there  are  some  counsels  to  be .  set 
before  you,  and  which  shall  be  done  in  the  words  of  good  old 
Cotton  Mather.  In  so  many  scriptures  you  shall  therefore 
have  so  many  counsels ;  they  will  be  both  best  received,  and 
best  remembered,  if  they  come  unto  you  with  a  "Thus  saith 
the  Lord." 

The  first  counsel  proper  for  you  is  intimated  in  Eph.  i.  3. 
"Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
who  hath  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  blessings  in  heavenly 
places  in  Christ."  Esteem  spiritual  blessings  the  most  desir- 
able blessings.  A  sufferer  should  be  a  Solomon ;  under  afflic- 
tion be  of  his  temper,  who,  in  2  Chron.  i.  11,  counted 
"wisdom,"  preferable  to  "riches,  and  honour,  and  long  life." 
Consider  an  "acquaintance  with  God"  that  thing  by  which 
"good  will  come  unto  you ;"  and  then  you  will  not  count  afflic- 


COUNSEL,  AND  COMFORT  FOR  AFFLICTED  BELIEVERS.         115 

tion  from  God  the  thing  which  is  against  you.  On  one  side,  be 
sure  to  judge  thus :  "If  I  lose  in  temporals,  and  gain  in 
spirituals,  I  am  an  abundant  gainer."  Be  sure  to  judge  on 
the  other  side  thus :  "If  I  lose  in  spirituals,  and  gain  in  tem- 
porals, it  certainly  fares  very  ill  with  me."  Let  sin  be  the 
only  thing  of  which  you  will  absolutely  say,  "it  is  against  me." 
But  of  every  thing  which  makes  you  more  conformed  to  Jesus 
Christ  say,  "this  is  for  me:"  O  say,  "this  is  all  my  salvation, 
and  all  my  desire." 

The  second  counsel  pertaining  to  you,  is  expressed  in  James 
V.  13.  "Is  any  among  you  afflicted?  Let  him  pray."  A 
time  of  affliction  should  be  a  time  of  supplication.  It  was  the 
precept  of  a  good  God,  in  Psalm  i.  15.  "Call  upon  me  in  the 
day  of  trouble;"  and  it  was  the  purpose  of  a  good  man,  in 
Psalm  Ixxxvi.  7.  "Lord,  in  the  day  of  my  trouble,  I  will  call 
upon  Thee."  Has  any  remarkable  affliction  befallen  thee?  I 
would  seriously  ask,  "Was  not  the  spirit  of  prayer  abated  in 
thee  before  the  affliction  came?"  Let  me  then  a  little  alter 
the  words  of  Deborah,  and  say,  "Awake,  awake,  O  soul ! 
awake,  awake  and  utter  a  prayer."  The  title  of  the  cii.  Psalm 
shews  the  duty  of  all  afflicted  men ;  there  should  be,  "a  prayer 
made  by  the  afflicted  when  he  is  overwhelmed,  and  he  should 
pour  out  his  complaint  before  the  Lord."  It  was  a  very  wise 
proposal  of  Eliphaz,  in  Job  v.  6-8.  "Affliction  comes  not  forth 
of  the  dust ;  nor  doth  trouble  spring  out  of  the  ground."  It 
may  be  thou  hast  lost  a  desirable  piece  of  dust ;  it  may  be  one 
of  thy  delights  is  put  into  the  ground.  O  look  up ;  look  above 
chance;  look  beyond  all  second  causes;  it  is  added,  "I  would 
seek  unto  God ;"  the  most  advisable  thing  in  the  world !  We 
are  in  affliction  prone  to  make  sad  complaints  to  our  fellow 
worms ;  unto  them  we  say,  "O  my  dear  infant !  or  O  my  lost 
estate !"  But  Job  found  cause  to  say,  in  chap.  xxi.  4.  "Is  my 
complaint  to  man?  If  it  were  so,  why  should  not  my  spirit 
be  troubled?"  Then  let  us  not  continue  saying,  "Have  pity 
on  me,  O  ye  my  friends ;"  but  instead  thereof  let  us  be  saying, 
"The  Lord  be  merciful  unto  me,  a  sinner."  Does  not  thy 
affliction  put  thee  upon  more  prayer  than  thou  didst  use 
before?  It  is  a  sad  sign  that  the  bitter  cup  arrives  to  thee 
mixed  with  the  displeasure  of  God.     An  affliction  will  neither 


IIG         COUNSEI.  AND  COMFORT  FOR  AFFWCTED  BELIEVERS. 

come  in  mercy,  nor  go  in  mercy,  if  much  prayer  do  not  accom- 
pany it.  In  affliction  pray  much ;  as  soon  as  ever  any  affliction 
befalls  us,  the  first  thing  we  should  do,  should  be  to  fall  down 
on-  our  knees,  to  cry  mightily  to  the  Lord  that  His  grace  may 
be  sufficient  for  us.  And  still,  as  long  as  God's  hand  is  upon 
us,  our  hands  should  be  lifted  in  prayers  unto  God.  We 
should  pray  that  our  affliction  should  be  moderated,  sanctified, 
and  removed.  The  pious  Hannah  of  old  found  prayer  to  be  a 
great  relief.  Let  this  be  your  good  character,  your  good  car- 
riage ;  "Lord  in  trouble  have  they  visited  Thee,  and  poured 
out  a  prayer  when  Thy  chastening  was  upon  them." 

The  third  counsel  which  you  are  to  follow,  is  declared  in 
Job  xxxiv.  31.  "Surely  it  is  meet  to  be  said  unto  God,  I  have 
borne  chastisement,  I  v/ill  not  offend  any  more  "  Repentance 
for  sin  should  be  the  effect  of  affliction  on  men.  The  end  of 
every  affliction  in  sum.  is  the  same  as  the  end  of  every  mercy ; 
v/e  may  say  of  it,  as  in  Rom.  ii.  4.  "O  man,  it  leads  thee  to 
repentance."  God  spoke  by  His  ten  judgments  to  Egypt,  as 
well  as  by  His  ten  commandments  to  Israel ;  every  affliction 
cries  this  in  our  ears,  "O  repent:  reform;  return  to  Him  that 
smites  thee."  We  read  of  a  gracious  person,  who  upon  having 
a  child  taken  away  by  death,  said  in  1  Kings  xvii.  18,  "My 
sins  are  brought  unto  remembrance."  This  is  that  for  which 
perhaps  all  thy  sickness,  all  thy  reproach,  all  thy  poverty,  and 
all  thy  bereavements  are  sent  upon  thee.  God  would  have 
thee  remember  some  sin  with  grief  and  shame,  and  "wherein 
thou  hast  done  iniquity,  to  do  it  no  more."  It  was  a  black 
brand  set  upon  a  bad  man,  in  2  Chron.  xxviii.  23.  "In  the 
time  of  his  distress,  did  he  trespass  yet  more  against  the 
Lord."  Shall  God  prune  thee,  and  cut  thee,  and  no  good  fruit 
be  found  upon  thee  after  all  ?  Shall  God  prick  thee,  and  lance 
thee,  and  all  thy  bad  blood  be  still  running  in  thy  veins?  Then 
indeed  these  things  are  against  thee.  Jeroboam's  withered 
hand  was  against  him,  because  it  rectified  not  his  wicked  heart- 
There  hardly  ever  was  a  more  lamentable  sight  in  this  world, 
than  a  thief  on  a  cross  continuing  to  dishonour  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  Art  thou  afflicted?  Then  take  the  course  which  the 
church  proposed  in  Lam.  iii.  40. 


COUNSEI,  AND  COMFORT  FOR  AFFl^ICTHD  BFLIFVERS.         117 

"Let  US  search  and  try  our  ways."  O  now  first  petition  thy 
God;  "Lord  show  me  wherefore  Thou  contendest  with  me?" 
And  then  examine  thyself  wherein  thou  hast  transgressed. 
Endeavour  to  find  out  what  controversy  there  may  be  between 
God  and  thee ;  let  thy  impartial  conscience,  the  preacher  in 
thy  bosom,  inform  thee  whether  thou  hast  not  overvalued,  or 
undervalued  the  things  of  which  thou  art  deprived ;  whether 
thou  hast  not  injuriously  procured  unto  some  other  person  an 
affliction  like  that  which  thou  thyself  now  smartest  under;  or 
whether  no  circumstance  of  thy  affliction,  as  the  time  of  it,  the 
place  of  it,  do  loudly  proclaim  God's  displeasure  in  it.  Inquire 
thus,  and  immediately  comply  with  what  the  Lord  shall 
require.  Let  thy  dead  friends  cause  thee  to  repent  of  thy 
dead  works ;  thou  mournest  over  a  lost  child,  or  a  lost  name ; 
O  be  concerned  about  a  lost  soul  that  is  lodging  in  thee.  Ask 
thyself  what  has  thy  past  behaviour  been?  And  ask,  what 
thy  future  deportment  should  be?  Bewail  now,  and  amend 
all  thy  miscarriages  in  the  sight  of  God.  We  are  very  ready 
to  fall  out  with  creatures  when  any  thing  happens  amiss  unto 
us.  But  O  spend  all  thy  pa^•sion^  and  all  thy  indignation 
here — look  upon  thy  sins,  and  curse  them  as  the  authors  of 
all  thy  sorrows.  O  look  upon  sin,  and  say,  have  I  found 
thee,  O  mine  enemy?  Man,  loathe  now,  and  leave  every  sin. 
It  was  that  sin  that  killed  thy  child ;  it  was  that  sin  that  burnt 
thy  house ;  that  sunk  thy  ship ;  that  robbed  thee  of  thy 
delights ;  never  after  this  be  at  peace  with  that  mischievous, 
detestable  monster,  sin. 

The  fourth  counsel,  big  with  which  every  affliction  saith 
unto  us,  as  Eliud  unto  Eglon,  "I  have  a  message  to  the  from 
God,"  we  have  specified  in  Job  xiii.  15.  "Though  He  slay 
me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  Him."  A  holy  resolution  for  God  is 
to  be  maintained  under  every  affliction  from  God.  Afflictions 
will  not  be  against  us  if  we  resolve  under  them  to  be  still  for 
Him  from  whom  they  come.  To  lay  aside  no  devotions  for 
all  afflictions ;  to  serve  a  smiting  God,  as  well  as  a  smiling  God ; 
to  seek  a  God  that  is  frowning  on  us,  as  well  as  a  God  that  is 
owning  us ;  this  will  argue  "an  Israelite  indeed."  We  should 
after  all  our  afflictions  be  still  able  to  make  that  appeal  to  the 
Lord,  in  Psalm  xliv.  17,  18.     "All  this  is  come  upon  us,  yet 


118        COUNSEL  AND  COMFORT  FOR  AFFLICTED  BFUEVERS. 

have  we  not  forgotten  Thee,  O  Lord."  Resolve  never  to 
renounce  the  truths  of  God ;  resolve  never  to  desert  the  ways 
of  God,  whatever  your  afflictions  are ;  still  "with  full  purpose 
of  heart,  cleave  unto  the  Lord."  In  resolutions  for  God,  be 
like  an  iron  pillar,  and  a  brazen  wall  that  cannot  be  prevailed 
against.  Resolve  to  be  holy,  though  the  wrath  of  man  would 
molest  you  for  it.  Suppose  a  wicked  world  should  abuse  you, 
and  oppress  you,  yet  say  with  Joshua,  "I  and  my  house  will 
serve  the  Lord."  Resolve  to  be  holy,  though  the  hand  of  God 
should  distress  you  in  it.  When  you  feel  the  discouragements 
of  the  narrow  way,  still  say  with  Paul,  "none  of  these  things 
move  me." 

Suppose  God  should  inflict  the  stroke  of  displeasure  on 
your  outward  man,  still  say,  though  my  life  should  be  continu- 
ally worn  away  with  pining  sickness,  yet  to  me  "to  live  shall 
be  Christ."  Still  say,  though  my  name  should  be  cast  out  as 
evil,  and  though  I  be  made  the  song  of  the  drunkard,  yet  will 
I  labour  all  I  can  to  honour  the  name  of  God.  Still  say, 
"though  I  am  reduced,  and  among  the  poor  in  this  world,  yet 
will  I  study  to  be  rich  in  good  works."  And  still  say,  "though 
I  cannot  have  my  children  like  olive  plants  about  my  table,  yet 
will  I  endeavour  to  be  myself  a  dutiful  child  of  God,  and  as 
a  fruitful  olive  tree  in  the  courts  of  the  Lord." 

Once  more;  suppose  God  withdraws  the  light  of  His  coun- 
tenance from  your  inward  man ;  still  say,  "the  Lord  shall  be 
my  God  even  when  He  forsaketh  me."  Still  say,  I  will  "fear 
the  Lord  and  obey  His  voice,  though  I  walk  in  darkness  and 
have  no  light." 

Happy  is  the  afflicted  man,  who  is  thus  a  resolved  man. 
The  followers  of  these  counsels  may  boldly  and  safely  lay 
claim  to  all  the  comforts,  and  strong  consolations  which  have 
this  day  been  set  before  the  "heirs  of  promise."  T.  S. 


No.  Vn. — Our  Duty  Under  Affliction. 

By  Rev.  John  Newton. 

What  shall  I  say?  Topics  of  consolation  are  at  hand  in 
abundance ;  they  are  familiar  to  your  mind ;  and  were  I  to  fill 
the  sheet  with  them,  I  could  suggest  nothing  but  what  you 


COUNSEL  AND  COMFORT  FOR  AFFLICTED  BEUEvERS.         119 

already  know.  Then  are  they  consolatory  indeed,  when  the 
Lord  Himself  is  pleased  to  apply  them  to  the  heart.  This  He 
has  promised,  and  therefore  we  are  encouraged  to  expect  it. 
This  is  my  prayer  for  you.  I  sincerely  sympathize  with  you : 
I  cannot  comfort  you ;  but  He  can,  and  I  trust  He  will.  How 
impertinent  would  it  be  to  advise  you  to  forget  or  to  suspend 
the  feelings  which  such  a  stroke  must  excite !  Who  can  help 
feeling?  Nor  is  sensibility  in  itself  sinful.  Christian  resig- 
nation is  very  different  from  that  stoical  stubbornness,  which 
is  most  easily  practised  by  those  unamiable  characters  whose 
regards  centre  wholly  in  self;  nor  could  we,  in  a  proper 
manner,  exercise  submission  to  the  will  of  God  under  our 
trials,  if  we  did  not  feel  them.  He  who  knows  our  frame  is 
pleased  to  allow,  that  afflictions  for  the  present  are  not  joyous 
but  grievous.  But  to  them  that  fear  Him  He  is  at  hand,  to 
support  their  spirits,  to  moderate  their  grief,  and  in  the  issue 
to  sanctify  it;  so  that  they  shall  come  out  of  the  furnace 
refined,  more  humble,  and  more  spiritual.  There  is,  however, 
a  part  assigned  us;  we  are  to  pray  for  the  help  in  need;  and 
we  are  not  wilfully  to  give  way  to  the  impression  of  over- 
whelming sorrow.  We  are  to  endeavor  to  turn  our  thoughts 
to  such  considerations  as  are  suited  to  alleviate  it ;  our  deserts 
as  sinners,  the  many  mercies  we  are  still  indulged  with,  the 
still  greater  afflictions  which  many  of  our  fellow-creatures 
endure,  and,  above  all,  the  sufferings  of  Jesus,  that  man  of 
sorrows,  who  made  Himself  intimately  acquainted  with  grief 
for  our  sakes. 

When  the  will  of  the  Lord  is  manifested  to  us  by  the  event, 
we  are  to  look  to  Him  for  grace  and  strength,  and  be  still  to 
know  that  He  is  God ;  that  He  has  a  right  to  dispose  of  us  and 
ours  as  He  pleases,  and  that  in  the  exercise  of  this  right  He  is 
most  certainly  good  and  wise.  We  often  complain  of  losses; 
but  the  expression  is  rather  improper.  Strictly  speaking,  we 
can  lose  nothing,  because  we  have  no  real  property  in  any 
thing.  Our  earthly  comforts  are  lent  us;  and  when  recalled, 
we  ought  to  return  and  resign  them,  with  thankfulness,  to 
Him  who  has  let  them  remain  so  long  in  our  hands.  But,  as 
I  said  above,  I  do  not  mean  to  enlarge  in  this  strain:  I  hope 
the  Lord,  the  only  Comforter,  will  bring  such  thoughts  with 


120         COUNSEL  AND  COMFORT  FOR  AFFLICTED  BELIEVERS. 

warmth  and  efficacy  upon  your  mind.  Your  wound,  while 
fresh,  is  painful,  but  faith,  prayer,  and  time,  will,  I  trust, 
gradually  render  it  tolerable.  There  is  something  fascinating 
in  grief :  painful  as  it  is,  we  are  prone  to  indulge  it,  and  to 
brood  over  the  thoughts  and  circumstances  which  are  suited 
(like  fuel  to  fire)  to  heighten  and  prolong  it.  When  the  Lord 
aflfiicts,  it  is  His  design  that  we  should  grieve :  but  in  this,  as 
in  all  other  things,  there  is  a  certain  moderation  which 
becomes  a  Christian,  and  which  only  grace  can  teach ;  and 
grace  teaches  us  not  by  books  or  by  hearsay,  but  by  experi- 
mental lessons :  all  beyond  this  should  be  avoided  and  guarded 
against  as  sinful  and  hurtful.  Grief,  when  indulged  and 
excessive,  preys  upon  the  spirits,  injures  health,  indisposes  us 
for  duty,  and  causes  us  to  shed  tears,  which  deserve  more 
tears.  This  is  a  weeping  world.  Sin  has  filled  it  with  thorns 
and  briers,  with  crosses  and  calamities.  It  is  a  great  hospital, 
resounding  with  groans  in  every  quarter.  It  is  as  a  field  of 
battle,  where  many  are  falling  around  us  continually ;  and  it 
is  more  wonderful  that  we  escape  so  well,  than  that  we  are 
sometimes  wounded.  We  must  have  some  share ;  it  is  the 
unavoidable  lot  of  our  nature  and  state ;  it  is  likewise  needful, 
in  point  of  discipline.  The  Lord  will  certainly  chasten  those 
whom  He  loves,  though  others  may  seem  to  pass  for  a  time 
with  impunity.  That  is  a  sweet,  instructive,  and  important 
passage — "And  ye  have  forgotten  the  exhortation  which 
speaketh  unto  you  as  unto  children ;  My  son,  despise  not  thou 
the  chastening  of  the  Lord,  nor  faint  when  thou  art  rebuked 
of  Him.  Now,  no  chastening  for  the  present  seemeth  to  be 
joyous,  but  grievous :  nevertheless  afterwards  it  yieldeth  the 
peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness  to  them  which  are  exercised 
thereby."  It  is  so  plain  that  it  needs  no  comment ;  so  full, 
that  a  comment  would  but  weaken  it.  May  the  Lord  inscribe 
it  upon  your  heart,  and  upon  mine  !  T.  S. 


No.  VIII. — The  Friend  in  Need  and  the  Friend  Indeed. 

Reader !  art  thou  a  Christian  ?  "Dost  thou  believe  on  the 
Son  of  God?"  If  not,  the  curse  of  God  resteth  upon  thee ;  and 
unless  thou  makest  haste  to  Christ  for  salvation,  thou  art  lost 


COUNSEL  AND  COMFORT  FOR  AFFLICTED  BELIEVERS.         121 

for  ever.  If  thou  hast  done  this,  and  art  resting  on  His  aton- 
ing blood  for  salvation,  all  things  on  earth  and  in  heaven,  in 
time  and  eternity,  are  thine.  Thou  mayest  at  present  be  exer- 
cised "with  great  and  sore  trials,"  but  "the  Lord  thinketh  on 
thee."  Abundant  provision  is  made  in  His  character.  His 
promises,  and  His  Son  for  thy  comfort;  He  has  commanded 
his  ministers  to  administer  His  support ;  while  He  reveals 
Himself  as  The  Consolation  of  Israel." 

Oh !  how  happy  is  that  man  who  can  say  of  Jesus,  "This  is 
my  beloved,  and  this  is  my  Friend !"  He  is  richer  than  he 
who  might  call  the  earth  his  own.  Seek,  reader.  His  friend- 
ship, and  then  in  every  hour  of  trial  He  will  support  and 
deliver  thee,  and  finally  bring  thee  to  His  heavenly  habitation. 

These  cordians  have  been  provided  for  thy  comfort  in  the 
day  of  trouble ;  thankfully  "take  the  cup  of  salvation,  and  call 
upon  the  name  of  the  Lord."  Drink  deeply  of  it  thyself,  and 
then  invite  thy  Christian  neighbour  to  rejoice  in  the  infinite 
provisions  God  has  made  for  the  happiness  of  those  who 
believe. 

"Friends,  methinks,  are  like  all  other  wares  in  these  days: 
of  cheap  ones  there  are  plenty,  but  they  are  good  for  little 
when  you  have  them,  and  the  genuine  article  is  very  difficult 
to  meet  with.  If  I  can  lead  you  to  a  true  friend,  good  reader, 
I  shall  do  you  real  service.  But  first  we  must  be  agreed  what 
we  mean  by  the  words,  or  we  shall  be  looking  for  different 
things  under  the  same  name.  By  a  true  friend,  I  do  not  mean 
a  man  who  always  says  the  thing  he  thinks  will  please  us  best ; 
that  is  a  flatterer:  he  should  be  shunned  like  a  traitor.  I  do 
not  mean  what  the  world  calls  a  merry  fellow ;  for  the  world 
does  not  mean  by  this  a  merry-hearted  man,  who  sees  the 
bright  side  of  every  thing,  and  praises  God  in  all ;  but  only  a 
man  who  can  laugh  much,  talk  gaily,  and  be  a  companion  in 
our  pleasures.  Such  a  one  will  not  do;  he  may  waste  a 
precious  hour,  but  he  is  not  a  true  friend.  To  come,  then,  to 
my  true  friend.  First,  he  must  love  me  well;  no  sugared 
words  on  the  one  hand,  no  long  wise  warnings  on  the  other, 
will  draw  my  heart  to  him,  if  I  do  not  feel  sure  he  loves  me. 
Secondly,  he  must  show  his  love  in  many  little  acts  of  kind- 
ness ;  many  a  kind  word  dropped  when  most  I  wanted  it ;  many 


122         COUNSEL  AND  COMFORT  FOR  AFFLICTED  BELIEVERS. 

a  watchful  care  to  remove  difficulties  I  had  not  seen  myself, 
out  of  my  way,  so  that  whenever  his  name  is  mentioned  it  may 
recall  those  thousand  little  acts  of  love  which  only  the  heart 
of  a  friend  can  prompt.  Thirdly,  he  must  be  near  at  hand, 
or  the  remembrance  of  his  love  will  only  sadden  me. 
Fourthly,  he  must  be  wiser  than  I  am ;  for  I  shall  often  want 
to  ask  his  counsel;  and  unless  I  am  sure  of  his  wisdom  I 
cannot  trust  him.  Fifthly,  though  it  be  not  at  all  needful  for 
could  be  raised,  I  should  suppose  that  my  true  friend  had 
rich  and  powerful,  it  would  be  a  great  relief.  I  could  take 
my  wants  to  him  then  without  scruple.  With  his  help  at  hand 
I  should  almost  feel  as  if  I  were  powerful  and  rich  myself. 
Sixthly,  if  I  wish  to  think  of  the  highest  pitch  to  which  love 
could  be  raised,  I  should  suppose  that  m  ytrue  friend  had 
suffered  something  for  me;  that  his  love  had  not  been  cheap 
love,  but  had  cost  him  much,  which  he  willingly  gave  up  for 
me.  Reader,  would  my  true  friend  come  up  to  the  wishes  of 
your  heart ;  if  so,  let  us  not  despair  of  finding  him.  Solomon, 
the  wisest  of  men,  says,  "There  is  a  friend  that  sticketh  closer 
than  a  brother,"  Prov.  xviii.  24.  Yes,  the  Lord  Jesus  is  this 
Friend;  He  loves  us;  all  His  words  bum  with  love.  Are  we 
weary? — He  says,  "I  will  give  you  rest."  Are  we  thirsty? — 
He  says,  "Come  ye  to  the  waters."  Are  we  troubled? — He 
says,  "Neither  be  ye  of  doubtful  mind."  Do  we  tremble? — 
He  says,  "Fear  not."  Again,  His  love  shows  itself  in  acts  of 
kindness.  Words  were  not  enough  for  us ;  we  were  poor 
sinners,  deserving  the  punishment  of  hell :  we  had  good  cause 
to  be  anxious  and  to  tremble;  but  He  Himself  took  the  sin 
as  His  own,  and  bore  the  punishment.  Here  was  an  act  of 
love.  Well  may  He  say,  "Fear  not."  Nor  is  He  wanting  in 
those  nameless  little  acts  of  love  which  endear  a  friend. 
Every  joy  we  have,  He  provided  it  for  us;  every  danger  we 
have  escaped, — unknown  to  us,  His  hand  has  moved  it  out  of 
our  way.  He  is  never  removed  from  us — the  only  friend  that 
can  never  be  an  absent  friend.  He  is  wiser  than  we ;  and, 
what  is  more,  He  is  willing  to  give  wisdom  liberally,  and  not 
to  upbraid  our  folly.  He  is  rich  and  powerful.  With  other 
friends  we  blush  to  urge  our  suit  too  often;  but  with  Him 
each  favor  given  is  only  a  plea   for  asking  for  more.     He 


COUNSEL  AND  COMFORT  FOR  AFFLICTED  BELIEVERS.         123 

wishes  us  in  Him  to  feel  rich  and  powerful,  that  we  "can  do 
all  things  through  Christ  which  strengtheneth"  us.  To  come 
to  our  last  point,  His  love  is  no  cheap  love ;  He  has  suffered 
fearfully  for  us;  He  gave  up  His  heavenly  home  for  us,  that 
He  might  dwell,  that  He  might  die,  in  this  world  of  sorrow. 
Has  He  not  proved  Himself  in  every  way  a  true  Friend? 

I  can  imagine  the  feelings  with  which  some  will  have  read 
these  lines.  The  description  of  a  true  friend  would  come 
home  to  them,  would  awaken  a  longing  for  such  a  friend  to 
help  them  through  this  rough  world;  but  when  I  told  them 
of  Jesus,  there  would  be  a  sense  of  disappointment,  a  feeling 
that  this  was  not  a  real  help  and  comfort.  They  did  not  deny 
that  all  I  had  written  was  true;  but,  somehow,  if  the  earthly 
friend  had  been  there  they  would  have  felt  the  comfort  of  it, 
and  now  it  seemed  but  thin  air — they  were  none  the  better 
for  it.  Why.  reader,  is  this  difference?  It  is  because  you 
see  the  earthly  friend ;  you  taste  his  benefits,  you  have  proof 
that  he  is  present.  But  you  cannot  see  Jesus ;  you  see  no  hand 
stretched  out  to  help;  you  hear  no  voice  to  guide  and  com- 
fort— not  with  your  bodily  eyes  and  ears ;  but  there  is  some- 
thing that  can  see  Him;  faith  can  see  Him — faith  can  hear 
Him.  This  is  no  idle  fancy,  for  many  of  His  children  have 
proved  it ;  they  have  found  in  Jesus  a  Friend,  more  real,  and 
more  true  than  any  earthly  friend.  Dear  reader,  I  entreat 
you,  do  not  rise  from  reading  this  paper  with  the  dull  sense 
of  disappointment,  but  with  the  prayer  of  the  apostle,  "Lord, 
increase  my  faith."  The  prayer,  if  sincere,  shall  be  answered. 
You,  too,  shall  find  Jesus  a  Friend;  you  shall  join  the  happy 
number  of  whom  it  is  said,  "Unto  you  therefore  which  believe 
He  is  precious."  T.  S. 


Christ  the  Believer's  Strength. 

The  apostle  says,  in  Phil.  4:  13.  "I  can  do  all  things 
through  Christ  which  strengtheneth  me." 

And  similarly,  in  Cor.  3 :  4,  5.  "And  such  trust  have  we 
through  Christ  to  God-ward:  not  that  we  are  sufficient  of 
ourselves  to  think  any  thing  as  of  ourselves :  but  our  suffi- 
ciency is  of  God." 


124         COUNSEI,  AND  COMFORT  FOR  AFFI^ICTFD  BEUBVERS. 

Let  us  consider  the  Spirit  expressed  in  these  words : 

Reflective  wisdom, — a  comparing  of  all  responsibilities  and 
resources :  in  order  to  satisfy  his  mind  as  to  results,  and  he 
found  that  he  had  enough  in  Christ  for  all  that  was  before 
him. 

Profound  humility, — the  Christian  sees  in  himself  only 
weakness,  ignorance,  emptiness  of  a  spiritual  kind :  and  looks 
for  all  his  supplies  to  another,  thereby  acknowledging  himself 
to  be  as  nothing. 

Peaceful  resignation  to  whatever  trials  may  await,  for  the 
believer  is  assured  that  as  his  day  is,  so  shall  his  strength  be ; — 
all  his  provision  for  suffering  is  already  in  Christ. 

Cheerful  readiness  for  all  duties,  however  numerous  or 
arduous;  for  Christ  will  give  strength  for  whatever  He  com- 
mands to  be  done, — so  that  the  believer  needs  not  bustle  or 
fret. 

Triumphant  dependence, — strength  in  weakness,  is  also  in 
these  words  indicated; — that  a  Christian  is  triumphant  in  pro- 
portion to  his  reliance  on  his  divine  strength. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  source  of  this  blessed  spirit.  It 
arises  from  Union  to  Christ;  Union,  through  Faith  in  the  tes- 
timony of  Christ; — and  Union,  by  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  putting  forth  His  power. 

In  virtue  of  this  all  the  resources  of  Christ  become  the 
believer's  resources. 

The  justifying  righteousness  of  Christ  makes  the  believer 
acceptable  before  God  continually,  to  present  his  wants. 

The  intercession  of  Christ  makes  the  believer  acceptable 
before  God  continually,  to  present  his  wants. 

The  intercession  of  Christ  ol)tains  the  hearing  and  the 
answering  of  his  prayers  for  help. 

The  sympathy  of  Christ  secures  the  co-operation  of  Him 
who  is  mighty  to  help. 

The  Providence  of  Christ  is  for  the  believer,  and  never  can 
be  against  him. 

The  character  of  Christ,  especially  His  love,  faithfulness 
and  wisdom,  constitute  an  unfailing  refuge  in  difficulty. 

The  presence  of  Christ  secures  protection  and  deliverance, 
wherever  the  believer  may  be ;  wherever  he  is,  Christ  is. 


COUNSEL  AND  COMFORT  FOR  AFFLICTED  BELIEVERS.         135 

The  secret  communion  of  Christ  by  His  word,  with  the  soul, 
constitutes  the  completing  of  the  victory.  Thus  the  Christian 
can  render  himself  as  a  living  sacrifice  unto  God,  can  mortify 
the  flesh,  overcome  the  world,  wrestle  with  principalities  and 
powers  of  darkness,  bear  up  under  the  burdensome  presence 
of  sin  in  his  soul.  Devolve  all  burdens  on  the  Lord,  with  con- 
fidence, suffer  affliction  joyfully,  persevere  in  His  work  amidst 
all  disappointments  patiently,  and  die  peacefully,  it  may  be 
triumphantly. 

Let  us  now  contemplate  the  blessing  implied  in  the  posses- 
sion of  this  spirit : 

It  imparts  peace. 

It  gives  strength. 

It  promotes  the  spirit  of  prayer. 

John  15:  7.  "If  ye  abide  in  me,  and  my  words  abide  in 
you,  ye  shall  ask  what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  you." 

It  stimulates  the  duty. 

2  Cor.  5:  14,  15.  "For  the  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us; 
because  we  thus  judge,  that  if  one  died  for  all,  then  were  all 
dead :  and  that  He  died  for  all,  that  they  which  live  should  not 
henceforth  live  unto  themselves,  but  unto  Him  which  died  for 
them,  and  rose  again." 

It  relieves  the  mind  from  solicitude  and  anxiety  about  the 
future. 

It  enables  us  to  bear  any  trial  because  it  is  ordered  and  over- 
ruled by  Christ. 

It  constitutes  the  secret  of  true  happiness  in  life,  of  peace  in 
death,  and  of  comfort  in  anticipation  of  the  judgment. 

This  experience  is  a  mystery  known  only  by  true  believers. 

Phil.  4:  12.  "I  know  both  how  to  be  abased,  and  I  know 
how  to  abound:  everywhere  and  in  all  things  I  am  instructed 
both  to  be  full  and  to  be  hungry,  both  to  abound  and  to  suffer 
need." 

It  found  therefore  a  test  of  character  and  a  standard  of 
attainable  perfection. 

Gal.  2 :  20.  "I  am  crucified  with  Christ :  nevertheless,  I 
live:  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me;  and  the  life  which  I 
now  live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God, 
who  loved  me,  and  gave  Himself  for  me." 


126         COUNSEL  AND  COMFORT  FOR  AFFLICTED  BFLIEVFRS. 

John  15:  4-6.  "Abide  in  me,  and  I  in  you.  As  the  branch 
cannot  bear  fruit  of  itself,  except  it  abide  in  the  vine :  no  more 
can  ye,  except  ye  abide  in  me.  I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the 
branches :  He  that  abideth  in  me,  and  I  in  him,  the  same 
bringeth  forth  much  fruit :  for  without  me  ye  can  do  nothing. 
If  a  man  abide  not  in  me,  he  is  cast  forth  as  a  branch,  and  is 
withered;  and  men  gather  them  and  cast  them  into  the  fire, 
and  they  are  burned."  T.  S. 


IX. — The  Security  of  the  Christian. 

Thou  hast  thrust  sore  at  me,  that  I  might  fall;  but  the  Lord 
helped  me.  Psalm  cxviii.  13.  Preserved  in  Christ  Jesus, 
and  called.  Jude  1. 
Jesus  was  in  the  council,  undertook  our  cause,  struck  hands 
in  the  covenant  as  our  surety,  wrought  out  a  righteous- 
ness for  us;  suffered  our  curse  on  the  tree  to  redeem  us, 
ever  lives,  and  ever  loves,  and  ever  pleads  our  cause,  while 
He  represents  our  persons  before  the  everlastingly  gracious 
and  infinitely  just  and  righteous  Jehovah,  his  Father  and  our 
Father,  now  well  pleased  with  us,  because  accepted  and  pre- 
served in  the  beloved.  Are  these  things  so?  And  has  the 
Lord,  the  Spirit,  the  glorifier  of  Jesus,  enlightened  our  under- 
standings to  see  these  things,  enabled  us  to  believe,  and  assured 
our  hearts  of  our  own  happy  share  and  interest  in  them !  O 
my  soul,  stop,  reflect,  dwell  on  such  wonderful  power,  marvel- 
lous favor,  distinguishing  love,  and  appropriated  mercy.  Now 
let  all  mine  eneinies  exert  their  utmost  power,  I  will  not  be 
afraid.  Afflictions,  pains,  temptations,  may  await  me.  waves 
and  storms  may  go  over  my  head,  Satan  may  sift  me  as  wheat, 
the  waters  of  death  may  prove  bitter  to  my  taste,  yet  I  will 
not  be  discouraged ;  He  that  died  for  me  will  take  care  of  me ; 
He  that  pardoned  by  aggravated  offences  will  heal  my  infirmi- 
ties ;  He  that  knew  the  power  of  temptation,  will  support  and 
deliver  me  out  of  all.  This  I  believe ;  Lord,  help  my  unbelief ! 
The  wisdom,  the  power,  the  love,  the  promise,  the  covenant, 
and  the  oath  of  Jehovah,  stand  all  engaged  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  a  poor,  unworthy  behever  in  Jesus.  Alleluia!  In 
Christ  will  I  trust,  and  not  be  afraid.  T.  S. 


God  Comforts  to  Make  Us 
Comforters. 


A  SERIES  OF  ARTICLES 

BY 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 


Published  in 
The  Central  Presbyterian. 


9— Vol.  X. 


GOD  COMFORTS  TO  MAKE  US  COM- 
PORTERS. 


No.  I. 


"Who  comforteth  as  in  all  tribulation,  that  we  may  be  able  to  comfort 
them  which  are  in  any  trouble,  by  the  comfort  wherewith  we  ourselves 
are  comforted  of  God." — 2  Corinthians  i :  4. 

The  qualifications  of  St.  Paul  for  his  high  office  as  a  min- 
ister of  Christ,  were  not  more  remarkable  than  the  ways  by 
which  he  was  prepared  for  eminent  usefulness  in  the  church 
of  God.  He  was,  unquestionably,  a  man  of  great  natural 
endowments,  of  strong  intellect,  of  great  mental  power,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  endured  with  firm,  noble,  and  generous  feel- 
ing. He  was  a  man  also  whose  character  obtained  for  him 
high  influence  among  his  countrymen;  and  was  delegated  to 
exercise  powers  which  would  have  been  committed  to  few, 
perhaps,  besides  himself.  When  he  became  converted,  he 
was  called  henceforth  to  devote  his  life,  and  all  his  powers, 
to  Him  who  had  dealt  by  him  with  such  wondrous  mercy. 
All  his  natural  endowments,  and  all  the  qualifications  which 
he  had  gotten  by  careful  mental,  and  moral  discipline,  were 
now  to  be  devoted  to  that  Lord,  whom  lately  he  had  perse- 
cuted. But  there  was  one  way  in  particular  by  which  God 
was  preparing  to  make  him  useful  in  his  church,  and  that  was, 
by  suffering.  We  are  told  of  all  the  apostles,  and  of  Paul  in 
common  with  them,  that  they  were  "delivered  unto  death;" 
that  they  were  "made  a  spectacle  to  the  world,  to  angels,  and 
to  men;"  but  he  who  was  to  stand  forth  pre-eminent  among 
them  for  his  labors  and  his  services,  his  usefulness  and  his 
success,  was  appointed  to  go  deeper  than  any  of  them  into  the 
suffering  and  the  bitterness  of  human  life.  "Strifes  and 
imprisonment"  were  familiar  to  him;  he  was  "often  in  ship- 
wrecks," and  other  perils;  he  was  well  acquainted  with 
"weariness,  and  pain  fulness,  and  watchings,  with  reproaches 
and  persecutions."  At  Philippi,  he  was  "shamefully  entreated ;" 
at  Ephesus,  he  "fought  with  the  beasts;"  at  Iconium,  at 
Antioch,  at  Lystra,  he  suffered  "affliction  and  persecution." 
But  there  were  heavier  trials  than  these,  which  he  was  called 
to   endure.     Tliere   were   divisions   among  the   people,   over 


132  GOD  COMFORTS  TO  MAKE  US  COMFORTERS. 

whom  God  had  set  him  in  charge,  so  that  he  almost  doubted 
whether  he  had  not  labored  amongst  them  in  vain.  And  when 
there  were  men,  like  the  members  of  the  church  at  Ephesus, 
who  were  growing  in  faith,  and  adorning  it  by  a  holy  practice, 
and  Paul  with  gladness  stayed  among  them ;  then  the  parting 
was  a  new  source  of  sorrow, — another  portion  of  the  burden 
which  he  was  bound  to  bear.  And  how  weighty  was  this 
burden,  and  how  sore  was  this  trial,  we  may  learn  from  his 
own  expressions  when,  at  Miletus,  he  sent  for  the  elders  of 
the  Ephesian  church  to  bid  them  farewell.  So  sorrowful  was 
that  parting,  it  well  nigh  broke  his  heart.  There  are  other 
parts  of  his  condition,  especially  that  which  regards  his  mys- 
terious trial — the  "thorn  in  the  flesh,  the  messenger  of  satan 
to  buffet  him,"  whereon  we  might  dwell.  But  enough  has 
been  said  to  prove  that  St.  Paul  was  a  man  of  great  suffering ; 
and  his  suffering  is  so  prominently  mentioned  in  his  history, 
that  we  cannot  but  connect  it  with  the  preparation  for  his 
eminent  usefulness  in  the  church  of  God. 

But  we  must  specially  mark  that  St.  Paul  is  our  pattern  in 
the  use  which  he  made  of  his  afflictions.  He  used  them 
rightly ;  that  is  to  say,  he  took  them  at  God's  hand  for  the  pur- 
pose intended,  as  explained  by  the  very  record  of  our  text. 
Herein  St.  Paul  may  well  stand  as  a  pattern  for  all  Christians. 
Sorrow  is  no  strange  thing  to  them.  It  is  God's  school  for 
spiritual  discipline.  It  is  God's  way  of  bringing  His  people 
to  heaven,  and  preparing  them  for  ''the  glory  that  is  to  be 
revealed."  The  condition  of  the  godly  is  oftentimes  a  condi- 
tion of  special  outward  trial.  In  the  Old  Testament,  indeed, 
we  read  of  those  who  served  God,  and  enjoyed  great  tem* 
poral  prosperity.  And  this  was,  in  a  great  degree,  the  promise 
of  the  Old  Testament.  But  under  the  new  dispensation,  God 
promises  us  that,  which  experience  proves  to  be  a  better  thing, 
He  promises  sanctified  affliction.  He  promises  trial  and 
trouble,  adversity  and  sorrow  of  heart,  all  working  for  good 
and  gracious  ends,  in  bringing  us  into  a  more  perfect  acquies- 
cence with  the  divine  will,  and  into  a  greater  preparedness  for 
His  heavenly  kingdom.  And  it  is  marvellous  to  see  how  in 
this  manner,  the  work  of  divine  grace  is  sometimes  first  begun 
in  the  heart.     There  may  have  been  seasons  of  utter  disre- 


GOD  COMFORTS  TO  MAKE  US  COMFORTERS.  133 

gard,  of  carelessness  and  neglect,  when  the  world  was  adding 
link  after  link  to  the  claims  of  its  bondage;  when,  though 
messages  were  sent  in  abundance,  none  seemed  to  reach  the 
heart,  but  it  seemed  as  if  it  were  always  hard,  as  if  there  were 
to  be  no  tokens  of  spiritual  life.  In  vain  were  the  faithful 
words  of  God's  ministers;  the  counsels  of  Christian  friends; 
the  prayers  and  the  tears  of  pious  parents;  in  vain  seemed 
all  the  means  of  grace;  until,  in  a  season  of  special  mercy, 
God,  as  it  were,  used  yet  one  more  effort,  sent  yet  one  more 
message,  and  strove  yet  once  more  by  His  Spirit,  with  the 
obdurate  sinner.  Conscience  was  at  last  awakened;  the  hard 
soil  of  the  heart,  which  had  been  lying  fallow  from  year  to 
year,  was  broken  up;  the  seed  was  sown,  and  there  might  be 
perceived,  "first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  after  that  the  full  corn 
in  the  ear," 


No.  II. 


"Who  comforteth  us  in  all  tribulation,  that  we  may  be  able  to  comfort 
them  which  are  in  any  trouble,  by  the  comfort  wherewith  we  ourselves 
are  comforted  of  God." — 2  Corinthians  i :  4. 

Such,  brethren,  is  not  infrequently  the  result  of  sanctified 
affliction.  As  long  as  men  are  prospering  in  the  world,  as  long 
as  they  seem  to  succeed  in  all  that  they  set  their  hands  to  do, 
it  is  very  difficult  to  make  them  feel  lowly-minded.  But  when 
disappointment  comes,  and  worldly  failure,  and  a  long  period 
of  unsuccesses,  then  the  man  learns  the  good,  though  bitter 
lesson — his  own  weakness.  Then,  for  the  first  time  it  may 
be,  he  begins  to  be  truly  humble.  He  may  have  been  utterly 
careless  of  all  spiritual  influences;  I  do  not  say  altogether 
regardless  of  external  religion ;  I  do  not  say  altogether  indif- 
ferent about  prescribed  ordinances — but  there  was  no  life 
joined  with  the  form,  no  life  lightening  and  blessing  the  serv- 
ice. But  when  sorrow  came  then,  for  the  first  time,  he  was 
taught  the  reality  of  religion.  He  was  not  in  earnest  before — 
the  spiritual  world  was  never  brought  within  his  view;  but 
when  God  had  taken  away  the  hope  and  expectation  from 
earthly  concerns,  a  new  sphere  opens  to  him;  and  there  is  a 
reality  in  his  thoughts  of  it,  and  an  earnestness  in  his  pursuit 
of  it.     And  thus  is  there  wrought  in  him  that  great  principle 


134  GOD  COMFORTS  TO  MAKE  US  COMFORTERS- 

of  faith — "the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of 
things  not  seen."     A  man  may  speak  of  it  fluently,  and  with 
accuracy,  before  he  has  been  greatly  tried  by  trouble;  but  it 
is  not  until  he  has  proved  the  truth  of  God  by  his  own  experi- 
ence, that  he  is  able  to  bear  testimony  to  the  faithfulness  of 
God,  or  to  attain  the  fulness  of  that  grace — the  grace  of  faith, 
which  shone  forth  so  conspicuously  in  some  of  God's  saints. 
The  season  of  affliction  is  also  the  time  when  the  spiritual  life 
especially  makes  itself  manifest  in  the  out-goings  of  prayer. 
I  do  not  mean  that  cold,  formal  prayer  which  passes  the  lips, 
but  with  which  the  heart  has  nought  to  do;  I  mean  the  com- 
munion of  the  soul  with  God, — the  drawing  near  of  the  spirit 
towards  Him  the  fountain  of  all  blessing.     When  a  man  is  in 
sorrow,  and  feels  his  heart  heavy  within  him;  when  he  looks 
about  in  the  world,  and  then  into  his  own  heart,  and  finds  no 
stay,  no  refuge  there,  God's  throne  of  grace  is  then  his  refuge, 
God's  mercy-seat  the  object  to  which  he  looks  for  consolation. 
All  his  deadness  and  mere  form  of  prayer,  is  ended,  and  he 
can  say — with  David — "Lord,  hear  my  cry ;  let  Thine  ears  be 
attentive  to  the  voice  of  my  supplication."     Thus,  too,  it  is 
that  a  man  first  awakened  from  a  worldly  and  carnal  course, 
to  the  truth,  the  reality  and  the  importance  of  religion,  by  the 
sorrows   which   God    sends   and    sanctifies,   makes   his   after 
progress.     For  you  will  find  that  they  who  have  stood  forth 
as  the  great  lights  of  the  church  in  the  age  in  which  their  lot 
was  cast, — they  who  have  left  their  names  to  be  honored  and 
loved  by  the  church  as  long  as  it  remains  upon  the  earth ;  they, 
in  short  who  "pressed  forward  towards  the  prize  of  their  high 
calling,"  and  are  now  among  the  multitudes  around  the  throne 
of  God  and  of  the  Lamb — are  those  who  "came  out  of  great 
tribulation."     It   is   God's  appointed  ordinance;   and  though 
there  are  exceptions,  yet,  for  the  most  part,  it  is  by  sanctified 
sorrow,  that  God  prepares  His  people  for  "His  eternal  king- 
dom and  glory."     And  blessed  indeed  it  is,  to  mark,  how,  by 
sanctified  affliction,  the  Christian's  heart  becomes  gradually 
detached  from  this  world,  and  more  earnestly  set  upon  those 
things  which  are  above.     His  outward  circumstances  may  be 
very  poor,  and  he  may  hardly  know  how,  from  day  to  day,  to 
"provide  things  honest  in  the  sight  of  all  men:"  but  he  has 


GOD  COMFORTS  TO  MAKE  US  COMFORTERS.  135 

"treasures  in  heaven,  where  neither  moth  nor  rust  can  corrupt, 
and  where  thieves  cannot  break  through  nor  steal."  He  may 
have  to  bear  mourning,  pain,  and  sickness ;  the  body  may  be 
wasted,  broken,  shattered;  he  may  have  to  endure  sharp  suf- 
fering; and  medical  aid  may  bring  him  no  relief,  no  promise 
of  recovery :  but  he  looks  the  more  earnestly  to  "that  city, 
where  no  inhabitant  shall  ever  say,  I  am  sick."  It  may  be 
the  will  of  God  to  take  from  him  earthly  friends,  so  that  he 
finds  himself  forsaken  and  desolate;  one  by  one  the  graves 
have  opened  for  them,  and  the  circle  in  which  was  once  his 
delight,  is  broken  up,  and  he  is  left  a  solitary  man.  And 
where  shall  he  find  comfort?  Who  shall  bind  up  the  wounds 
of  such  a  stricken  heart?  Oh,  it  is  He,  and  only  He,  who 
bade  the  widow  not  weep,  though  her  son  was  dead.  He  of 
whom  we  may  say,  that  He  is  still  "a  friend  that  loveth  at  all 
times,  a  friend  that  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother."  And  so 
we  may  say  in  general  of  a  Christian's  condition,  though  his 
plans  may  be  defeated,  and  his  cherished  hopes  should  be  laid 
low  in  the  dust,  there  is  something  to  be  learned  from  all  his 
disappointments :  God  is  teaching  him  to  build  upon  that  ever- 
lasting foundation,  where,  "though  the  rains  may  descend, 
and  the  floods  may  come,  and  the  winds  may  blow,  the  house 
shall  not  fall,  because  it  is  founded  upon  a  rock." 


No.  HI. 


"Who  comforteth  us  in  all  tribulation,  that  we  may  be  able  to  comfort 
them  which  are  in  any  trouble,  by  the  comfort  wherewith  we  ourselves 
are  comforted  of  God." — 2  Corinthians  i :  4. 

But  the  main  point  to  which  I  would  direct  your  attention 
is  this — that  the  text  speaks,  not  merely  of  the  comfort  which 
we  ourselves  receive  in  tribulation,  but  the  means  whereby 
God  qualifies  us  for  the  comforting  of  others.  Let  us  never 
forget,  that  we  are  bound  together  by  a  very  close  brother- 
hood. "No  man  liveth  unto  himself."  "We  are  members 
one  of  another."  If  we  belong  to  the  Lord  Jesus  as  the  head, 
we  belong  to  one  another  as  members.  In  proportion  as  we 
realize  the  one  union,  we  must  realize  the  other.  Whatever 
be  our  condition,  though  our  circumstances  be  ever  so  widely 
different,  we,  nevertheless,  lie  very  near  the  one  to  the  other. 


136  GOD  COME'ORTS  TO  MAKE  US  COMFORTERS. 

However  we  may  be  separated  by  our  prosperity,  from  those 
who  are  lying  in  the  depths  of  adversity;  however  we  may 
have  been  preserved  by  God's  grace,  from  many  debasing  sins 
of  open  notoriety,  into  which  others  have  fallen — they  are 
brethren  still ;  and  we  may  not  look  upon  them  as  separate 
from  us  by  any  thing  essential  to  their  condition  or  to  ours. 
But  if,  in  respect  of  natural  condition,  and  the  obligations  of 
human  life,  we  recognize  the  similarity  between  man  and  man, 
it  is  mainly  to  be  brought  out  by  the  relation  in  which  we  stand 
to  Christ.  If  we  are  brethren  by  our  creation,  much  more  are 
we  brethren  by  our  redemption.  Perhaps  very  few  persons 
would  be  likely  to  controvert  the  truth  of  this  close  relation- 
ship which  subsists  between  this  vast  household ;  and  yet  it  is 
somewhat  difificult  to  keep  it  in  mind  when  we  are  resolutely 
occupied  in  getting  or  enjoying;  when,  as  is  the  case  with 
many  of  you,  a  large  portion  of  life  is  occupied  in  important 
and  engrossing  pursuits ;  important  as  far  as  the  interests  of 
this  world  are  concerned ;  engrossing,  as  far  as  their  natural 
effects  are  concerned.  Perhaps,  when  some  tale  of  sorrow  is 
brought  before  us,  we  may  be  disposed  to  give  heed  to  it,  and 
afford  relief ;  but  we  are  not  inclined  to  go  out  of  our  way  to 
see  it ;  we  are  not  inclined  to  make  common  cause  with  the 
sorrowful ;  to  go  to  them  "as  being  in  the  flesh,"  subjected  to 
the  same  condition,  and  as  being  redeemed  by  the  same 
precious  blood,  and  therefore  bound  together  by  a  likeness  in 
our  spiritual  condition.  But  if  it  please  God  to  send  sorrow 
to  us;  if  it  please  Him  to  remove  from  us  some,  at  least,  of 
those  circumstances  whereby  we  have  been  separated  from 
the  condition  of  all  around  us,  the  barrier  to  Christian  sym- 
pathy is  put  out  of  the  way,  and  we  learn  to  look  at  those  who 
are  nearly  related  to  ourselves,  whose  close  kindred  we  might 
have  been  betrayed  into  forgetting. 

It  is  a  blessed  effect,  then,  of  sorrow  which  God  appoints 
for  ourselves,  that  it  makes  us  take  note  of  sorrows  which 
others  are  enduring.  And  if  it  make  us  look  to  Christ's  poor 
with  a  more  tender  regard,  with  a  deep  and  more  brotherly 
affection  than  hitherto ;  it  is,  at  the  same  time,  a  sign  that  we 
are  growing  in  acquaintance  and  in  communion  with  Him, 
w^ho,  as  to  His  human  state,  as  to  His  state  on  earth,  was  a 


GOD  COMFORTS  TO  MAKE  US  COMFORTERS.  137 

poor  man,  and  who  has  committed  to  His  church  for  ever  the 
care  of  the  poor;  nay,  who  has  told  us,  that  poverty  shall  be 
a  continual  dispensation  therein,  as  if  to  give  opportunity 
for  the  exercise  of  patience  on  the  one  hand,  and  for 
kindness  and  charity  on  the  other  hand.  Perhaps  we  may 
all  of  us  be  conscious,  that  in  a  season  of  prosperity, 
when  our  hearts  have  been  glad  within  us,  when  our 
way  has  been  smooth,  and  our  sky  has  been  cloudless,  we 
have  not  been  very  ready  to  sympathize  with  the  distresses 
of  those,  whom  God  has  brought  down  into  affliction.  We 
may  listen  to  their  tale,  but  not  willingly ;  we  may  have  gone 
to  visit  them,  but  not  as  a  duty  which  we  were  glad  to  per- 
form. There  might  have  been — may,  if  we  confess  the  truth, 
all  of  us  must  say,  there  has  been — a  degree  of  impatience  in 
listening  to  the  tales  of  the  distressed,  so  long  as  we  ourselves 
realized  little  distress  in  our  own  circumstances.  But  when 
sorrow  has  laid  its  cold  hand  upon  the  heart  which  was  high 
in  hope ;  when  God  has  stricken  us,  and  brought  us  down  into 
the  depths  of  adversity;  when  we  are  sad  and  lonely;  when 
the  desire  of  our  eyes  is  taken  away  with  a  stroke :  then  it 
seems  as  if  the  forgotten  brotherhood  was  brought  out  into 
all  its  strength  and  plainness ;  we  had  rather  go  now  to  the 
house  of  mourning,  than  to  the  house  of  feasting;  we  had 
rather  go  into  communion  with  those  who  are  in  grief,  than 
with  those  who  are  in  great  gladness;  we  sympathize  with  a 
closeness  of  sympathy  with  others,  such  as,  for  a  time  at  least, 
was  interrupted.  So  it  is  that  God  teaches  us  a  lesson  of 
great  usefulness  in  His  church.  It  is  the  very  lesson  which 
was  taught  to  St.  Paul  with  such  effect  so  long  ago.  And, 
indeed,  if  we  in  any  measure  follow  the  example  of  our  Lord 
and  Master;  if  we  are  in  any  way  to  be  like  unto  Jesus,  we 
must  learn  this  lesson  of  sympathy.  It  is  not  enough  that  we 
bestow  benefit;  it  is  not  enough  that  we  contribute  of  our 
substance ;  it  is  not  enough  that  we  contrive  kind  and  charitable 
plans  for  the  relief  of  the  distressed.  Our  Master  did  not 
bestow  blessings  in  a  cold  and  distant  way  ;  He  sorrowed  with 
the  mourning.  He  entered  into  the  griefs  and  the  necessities 
and  the  infirmities  of  those  whom  He  was  ready  to  relieve. 
And  so  He  would  have  us  not  only  "rejoice  with  them  that 


138  GOD  COMI'ORTS  TO  MAKE  US  COMFORTERS. 

rejoice,"  but  also  "weep  with  them  that  weep."  And,  in 
truth,  this  sympathy  of  which  I  speak,  and  of  which  our  Lord 
sets  us  an  example,  is  the  common  language  of  human  nature; 
is  the  great  secret  whereby  we  may  unlock  all  human  hearts. 

But,  the  effect  of  sorrow  upon  a  really  Christian  person,  is 
especially  manifested  ia  the  ministering  of  spiritual  consola- 
tion. He  who,  in  his  own  troubled  times,  has  found  God  his 
refuge  and  his  support ;  he  has  found  the  promises  of  the  Lord 
to  be  a  stay  and  a  staff  in  his  own  seasons  of  deep  distress, 
is  one  who  is  "able  to  comfort  those  who  are  in  trouble,  by  the 
comfort  wherewith  he  himself  was  comforted  of  God."  He 
remembers  what  light  shone  in  upon  his  dark  condition,  and 
he  learns  to  speak  to  them  with  all  the  eloquence  and  per- 
suasiveness of  deep  feeling  concerning  Him,  who  is  the  day- 
spring  from  on  high." 

Now,  dear  brethren — in  conclusion,  I  know  that  there  are 
those  among  you,  whom  God  has  visited  from  time  to  time, 
with  sore  distress  and  suffering;  and  at  the  same  time,  to 
whom  God  has  ministered  the  consolations  of  His  blessed 
word.  I  exhort  you,  most  earnestly,  that  you  learn  a  lesson 
thereby, — that  you  sympathize  with  the  sorrowful;  that  you 
minister  to  them  as  to  outward  and  temporal  assistance,  and 
that  you  especially  do  what  you  may,  by  kind  counsel  and 
earnest  words,  and  by  your  own  consistent  example,  in  lead- 
ing them  to  Him,  who  is  the  source  of  all  consolation  for  the 
stricken  and  broken-hearted.  Remember,  that  the  Scripture 
tells  us,  "love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law."  All  gifts,  all  suffer- 
ing, all  self-denial  are  in  vain,  without  love.  It  is  this  grace 
which  gives  its  color  and  its  love  to  every  other.  It  is  only 
if  we  have  love  to  our  Lord,  and  love  to  our  fellow-creatures 
for  His  sake,  that  it  is  an  offering  which  He  accepts,  because 
it  springs  from  the  principle  which  His  own  grace  has 
engrafted.  Let  us  remember,  then,  that  when  faith  worketh 
in  us  patience,  and  experience  and  hope,  that  we  apply  the 
affliction  which  God  sends  us,  not  merely  to  our  personal  use, 
but  to  the  increase  of  our  service  in  the  church  of  God;  to 
benefit  others  through  our  means;  to  make  us  useful  to 
them : — thus  telling  upon  our  social,  as  well  as  upon  our  indi- 
vidual state. 


Infants  Die  to  Live:  Solace  for 
Bereaved  Parents. 


Including    the    Historical    Development    of    the 
Doctrine   of    Infant   Salvation,    Proof   of   the 
Doctrine,  the  Age  of  Irresponsible  Child- 
hood, With  Selections  of  Facts  and 
Examples  in  Prose  and  Poetry. 


BY  ./ 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 


The  dead, 
The  only  beautiful,  who  change  no  more  ; 
The  only  blest ;  the  dwellers  on  the  shore 
Of  Spring  fulfilled.     The  dead ! — whom  call  we  so  ? 
They  that  breathe  purer  air,  that  feel,  that  know. 
Things  wrapt  from  us. 

HEMANS. 


NEW  YORK: 

Robert  Carter,  68  Canai,  Street,  and 

Pittsburg,  56  Market  Street. 

1848. 


EnterSd,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1846, 

BY  ROBERT  CARTER, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States 
for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


PREFACE. 


Oh,   what   is   life  ?     'Tis   like   the   bow 

That  glistens  in  the  sky  ; 
VVe  love  to  see  its  colours  glow — 

But  while  we  look  they  die. 
Life  fails  as  soon  ;  to-day  'tis  here, 

To-morrow  it  may  disappear. 

The  following  work  is  a  very  needful  one,  and  will,  I  hope, 
prove  acceptable  and  comforting.  It  is  the  first,  and  only- 
American  work,  exclusively  devoted  to  the  consideration  of 
the  subject  of  infant  salvation,  and  the  comfort  of  bereaved 
parents.  I  have  endeavoured  to  make  it  as  comprehensive, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  as  much  adapted  to  popular  use,  as  pos- 
sible. Besides,  therefore,  the  argument  contained  in  the  first 
chapters,  I  have  added  a  very  full  selection  from  various 
authors,  both  in  prose  and  poetry ;  so  that  the  time,  the  taste, 
the  circumstances,  and  the  feelings  of  all  classes  of  readers 
may  be  accommodated.  The  work  thus  contains  a  treasury  of 
all  the  literary  gems  pertaining  to  this  subject  which  have  been 
dug  up  by  the  force  of  sanctified  genius  out  of  the  minds  of 
intellect,  or  secured  from  the  fathomless  depths  of  the  ocean 
of  thought.  This  collection  is  rich  in  such  precious  gems,  gath- 
ered from  all  lands;  but  will  be  found  especially  brilliant  in 
the  sparkling  lustre  of  its  American  productions.  Of  such  a 
cabinet  we  may  well  be  proud,  and  with  such  comforters  we 
may  well  be  solaced  in  every  hour  of  grief. 

The  collection  in  poetry,  while  it  is  select,  is  complete,  as  far 
as  the  author  could  find  resources  or  references;  and  as  far 
as  merit  and  proper  Christian  sentiment  warranted  their  inser- 
tion; and  is  the  result  of  many  years'  inquiry  and  research. 
And  it  will  serve,  I  think,  to  prove  that  religion  is  the  best 
inspirer  of  the  muse,  and  brings  out  from  the  lyre  of  poetry  its 
softest,  sweetest  notes.  Indeed,  in  many  cases,  it  has  made 
poets  where  the  fire  of  genius  had  slumbered  under  the  ashes 
of  a  timid  modesty,  or  the  oppressive  weight  of  worldl}  avoca- 
tions. 

I  have  been  particular  in  exhibiting  the  connexion  between 
the  doctrine  of  infant  salvation  and  the  doctrines  of  Calvinism, 


144  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

as  taught  in  the  XXXIX  articles  of  the  Episcopal  Church — (as 
these  are  interpreted  by  all  its  Evangelical  members) — and  in 
the  Shorter  Catechism,  and  other  doctrinal  standards  of  the 
Westminster  Assembly,  as  these  are  held  or  approved  of  by 
the  Presbyterian,  Congregationalist,  Baptist,  and  Reformed 
Dutch  churches.  In  doing  so,  however,  my  object  has  not 
been  to  sectarianize  the  work,  or  represent  the  charitable  views 
it  inculcates  as  peculiar  to  these  bodies,  but  to  show  to  the 
world,  and  to  our  Christian  brethren  of  other  denominations, 
that  in  holding  Calvinistic  doctrines,  we  do  not  hold  their  views 
of  what  these  doctrines  teach,  nor  those  awful  consequences 
which,  in  their  conception  of  them,  these  doctrines  imply.  I 
hope,  therefore,  that  this  exhibition  of  the  real  nature  and 
tendency  of  Calvinism  will  serve  to  put  down  misrepresenta- 
tions; to  remove  prejudices;  and  to  draw  nearer  together,  in 
the  bonds  of  charity  and  good-will,  all  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ — "both  theirs  and  ours" — and  who  trust  in  the  word 
of  God  only,  in  the  grace  of  Christ  only,  and  in  the  sanctifying 
influences  of  the  Holy  Ghost  only.  The  Trinity  of  the  one 
immutable  Godhead,  as  the  source  of  salvation,  of  grace,  and 
of  power — the  author,  finisher,  and  imparter  of  eternal  life — 
this  is  the  grand  platform  on  which  all  true  Christians  can 
meet,  sympathize,  hope,  rejoice,  and  triumph.  May  we  all 
"stand  fast"  in  this  faith,  and  "keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in 
the  bonds  of"  a  more  open,  more  visible,  and  more  consoli- 
dating "peace." 

Not  with  mistrusting  heart,  or  anxious  brow, 
My  little  book,  I  send  thee  forth  again — 
So  thou  the  suffrage  of  the  good  obtain, 

I  seek  not  what  the  worldling  can  bestow, 

Of  perishable  oraise — enough  to  know 
That  at  the  lonely  couch  of  grief  or  pain, 
Thy  simple  page  one  passing  smile  may  gain, 

Or  kindle  in  the  breast  devotion's  glow. 

Yet,  shouldst  thou  find  a  place  in  blissful  bower, 
'Midst  happy  hearts,  unthinking  of  their  doom, 

In  the  fond  trust  of  that  delusive  hour, 
O  whisper  to  them  of  the  coming  gloom. 

And  tell  them  of  the  faith  whose  mighty  power 

Can  light  the  dreary  precincts  of  the  tomb. 

The  Author. 
Charleston,  Dec.  1845. 


CONTENTS. 

Chapter  I.  page 

Salutation  and  Sympathy 147 

Chapter  II. 

The  Historical  Development  and  Practical  Importance  of 

the  Doctrine  of  Infant  Salvation 150 

Chapter  III. 

The  Necessity  for  Discussing  the  Doctrine  of  the  Salva- 
tion of  Infants 1T3 

Chapter  IV. 
Children  Are  Taken  Away  in  Infancy  in  Mercy  to  Them.  1T8 

Chapter  V. 

Children  Are  Taken  Away  in  Infancy  for  the  Benefit  of 

the  Living 200 

Chapter  VI. 

Stories  and  Letters  That  Illustrate  the  Views  Set  Forth  in 

the  Preceding  Chapters 224 

Chapter  VII. 
Poetical    Selections 2G4 


10— Vol.  X. 


INFANTS  DIE  TO  LIVE  :   SOLACE   FOR 
BEREAVED  PARENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Salutation  and  Sympathy. 

Bid  gentle  patience  smile  on  pain 
Till  dying  hope  revive  again  ; 
Hope  wipes  the  tear  from  sorrow's  eye, 
And  faith  points  upward  to  the  sky. 

Steele. 
My  Dear  Reader, 

This  work  is  addressed  to  you  as  a  bereaved  Parent.  God 
has  given  you  a  child  whom  you  dearly  loved,  and  God  has 
taken  that  child  away.  He  has  "strickened  the  desire  of  your 
eyes,"  and  "wounded  you  sore."  Like  Rachel  you  weep  for 
your  departed  child,  and  "refuse  to  be  comforted  because  it 
is  not." 

Your  grief,  my  dear  friend,  is  natural,  for  your  affliction  is 
great.  Your  heart  is  left  lonely  and  desolate.  Its  strings  are 
broken.  That  joy  which  had  swallowed  up  all  remembrance 
of  the  hours  of  solicitude  and  pain,  is  now  turned  into  melan- 
choly sadness.  That  current  of  affection  and  gladness  which 
had  flowed  out  upon  the  object  of  your  regard  is  turned  back 
upon  the  soul — its  channels  are  dried  up,  and  its  fountain  gone. 
The  grief  of  a  bereaved  parent  can  only  be  known  by  those 
who  have  endured  it.  Of  this  it  may  be  truly  said,  "the  heart 
knoweth  its  own  bitterness  and  a  stranger  intermeddleth  not 
with  it."  There  are  susceptibilities  in  man  which  are  only 
developed  by  an  entrance  upon  the  relation  of  parent.  The 
individual  who  has  never  become  a  Father  or  a  Mother,  has 
never  felt  the  most  powerful  of  human  emotions.  He  is  a 
stranger  to  that  joy  which  seems  to  fill  the  heart  to  overflow- 
ing ;  and  to  that  outgoing  of  the  soul  which  identifies  the  parent 
with  his  child,  absorbs  all  selfish  regards,  and  inspires  a  wil- 
lingness to  endure  all  things  for  the  sake  of  his  beloved 
offspring. 

Who  then  can  truly  sympathize  with  parents  in  their  joys 
or  sorrows,  but  he  who  has  been  himself  a  parent?     An  old 


148  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

writer  has  quaintly  remarked, — as  illustrative  of  the  adapta- 
tion of  Christ,  by  the  endurance  of  human  misery,  for  His 
present  office  of  Mediator  between  God  and  man, — that  were 
his  limb  broken  he  should  desire  to  have  it  set  by  a  physician 
who  had  himself  experienced  a  similar  calamity.  Sure  it  is 
that  the  wounded  heart  of  a  bereaved  parent  can  only  be  bound 
up  by  one  whose  own  heart  has  been  in  like  manner  torn,  and 
who  can  sincerely  weep  with  him  who  weeps  over  the  grave 
of  his  buried  offspring. 

Young  mother !  what  can  feeble  friendship  say, 
To  soothe  the  anguish  of  this  mournful  day  ? 
They,  they  alone,  whose  hearts  like  thine  have  bled, 
Know  how  the  living  sorrow  for  the  dead  ; 
Each  tutored  voice,  that  seeks  such  grief  to  cheer, 
Strikes  cold  upon  the  weeping  parent's  ear ; 
I've  felt  it  all, — alas  !  too  well  I  know 
How  vain  all  earthly  power  to  hush  thy  woe  ! 
God  cheer  thee,  childless  mother !  't  is  not  given 
For  man  to  ward  the  blow  that  falls  from  heaven. 

I've  felt  it  all — as  thou  art  feeling  now  : 
Like  thee,  with  stricken  heart  and  aching  brow, 
I've  sat  and  watched  by  dying  beauty's  bed, 
And  burning  tears  of  hopeless  anguish  shed ; 
I've  gazed  upon  the  sweet,  but  pallid  face. 
And  vainly  tried   some  comfort  there  to  trace  ; 
I've  listened  to  the  short  and  struggling  breath  ; 
I've  seen  the  cherub  eye  grow  dim  in  death  ; 
Like  thee,  I've  veiled  my  head  in  speechless  gloom. 
And  laid  my  first-born  in  the  silent  tomb. 

It  is  on  this  account  I  would  venture  to  intrude  my  thoughts 
upon  your  present  solitude,  and  whisper  words  of  consolation 
to  that  ear  which  can  never  more  hear  the  infant  voice  now 
silent  in  death.  Like  you,  my  friend,  I  have  been  called  to 
witness  the  unexpected  departure  of  my  children.  Two  of 
them  I  committed  to  the  same  grave,  where  they  sleep  the  sleep 
of  death.  They  were  growing  up  together  like  two  young 
flowers,  which  had  intertwined  their  tendrils,  and  mingled  their 
sweet  fragrance,  but  which  were  suddenly  withered  by  the 
same  rude  blast.  Like  them,  these  children  were  lovely  in 
their  lives,  and  in  death  they  were  not  divided.  The  same 
storm  overwhelmed  them  both.  They  lie,  as  it  were,  arm  in 
arm,  and  side  by  side,  in  the  same  deep  and  narrow  bed  of 
earth,  until  they  awake  in  the  morning  of  the  resurrection. 
Nor  do  they  lie  alone,  their  narrow  bed  has  been  uncovered 
to  receive  another  sleeper,  the  victim  of  a  similar  malady, 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  149 

whose  sun  of  brightest  promise  went  down  while  my  heart  was 
still  rejoicing  in  the  beauty  of  its  day-spring. 

It  was  when  tossed  upon  the  sea  of  trouble  in  which  these 
sudden  visitations  involved  me,  I  was  led  to  the  full  investiga- 
tion of  the  question  of  salvation  of  infants.  That  examination 
more  than  confirmed  my  hopes.     It  strengthened  them  into  a 

COMFORTABLE  ASSURANCE  THAT  IN  THE  DEATH  OF  INFANTS,  IT 
IS   WELL   WITH   THEM,   AND   WELL   WITH   THEIR   PARENTS — that 

God's  purposes  are  merciful  to  both — and  that  while  He  glori- 
fies Himself  in  the  exaltation  of  the  children  to  heaven,  He 
would  also  secure  by  such  afflictions  the  sanctification  and  the 
salvation  of  their  parents,  so  that  the  tide  of  death,  whose 
receding  waves  withdrew  the  desire  of  your  eyes  for  ever  from 
your  sight,  has  only  borne  them  back  again  upon  "the  eternal 
sea  which  washes  the  throne  of  God." 

Of  one  thing  be  very  sure:  God  does  nothing  without  a 
reason.  That  reason  may  have  respect  to  you — it  may  have 
respect  to  your  child,  and  not  unlikely  to  both.  He  sees  eflfects 
in  their  causes.  Your  case  may  have  been  this :  you  may  have 
been  in  danger  of  loving  the  world  too  much,  and  He  removed 
the  cause  in  time.  Its  case  may  have  been  this :  it  may  have 
been  in  danger  from  the  growth  of  a  corrupt  nature,  and  He 
took  it  in  the  bud  of  being  that  it  might  grow  without  imper- 
fection, "for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Think  of 
your  child  then  not  as  dead  but  as  living,  not  as  a  flower  that 
is  withered,  but  as  one  that  is  transplanted,  and,  tended  by  a 
divine  hand,  is  blooming  in  richer  fragrance  in  the  paradise 
of  God. 

"  'With  patient  mind  thy  course  of  duty  run, 
God  nothing  does,  nor  suffers  to  be  done, 
But  thou  wouldst  do  thyself,  if  thou  couldst  see 
The  end  of  all  He  does  as  well  as  He.'  " 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Historical  Development  and  Practical  Importance 
OF  THE  Doctrine  of  Infant  Salvation. 

I  stood  beside  a  death-bed  scene,  a  mother  bent  and  wept, 

But  deep  within  her  breaking  heart,  a  deathless  faith  she  kept: 

She  gazed  upon  her  little  one,  so  beautiful  and  still, 

And  humbly  tried  to  yield  him  up  unto  her  Maker's  will : 

She  bent  and  kissed  his  pallid  brow,  she  joined  her  hands  in  prayer. 

And  then  I  knew  the  Christian's  hope  had  surely  entered  there. 

When  I  was  led  to  the  investigation  of  this  subject,  nothing 
surprised  me  more  than  the  difficulty  with  which  I  could  then* 
find  anything  adapted  to  my  inquiries.  With  very  ample 
resources,  I  could  discover  but  little  in  the  form  of  direct  dis- 
cussion, on  this  most  interesting  subject.  It  is  certainly 
strange,  that  while  works  of  consolation  and  advice  had  been 
prepared  for  almost  every  other  class  of  mourners  in  Zion, 
bereaved  parents  were  left  to  comfort  themselves  by  those 
general  considerations  only,  which  leave  their  peculiar  sorrows 
unalleviated. 

With  very  diligent  search  I  have  procured  an  Essay  on  this 
subject  by  the  Rev.  Daniel  Gillard,  published  in  London  in 
1787 ;  a  similar  Essay,  entitled  Grounds  of  Hope  for  the  Sal- 
vation of  all  dying  in  Infancy,  by  the  Rev.  William  Harris, 
LL.  D.,  published  in  London  in  1821 ;  An  Essay  on  ^he  Sal- 
vation of  all  dying  in  Infancy,  by  the  Rev.  David  Russell  of 
Dundee,  published  in  Edinburgh  in  1823  ;t  a  little  volume 
addressed  to  Bereaved  Parents,  by  John  Thornton,  published 
in  London  in  1831 ;  a  Sermon,  by  the  late  Dr.  Henry  ;  and  two 
others,  on  the  death  of  their  children,  by  Dr.  Doddridge,  and 
Dr.  Cotton  Mather.  Besides  these,  I  found  only  some  scat- 
tered hints  in  various  volumes. $ 

From  an  examination  of  all  these,  I  matured  that  opinion 
I  have  embodied  in  the  following  chapters,  the  substance  of 
which  was  delivered  in  discourses  to  my  people.    Their  earnest 

♦Since  then  many  things  in  prose  and  poetry  have  been  written. 

tThis  is  a  most  full  and  satisfactory  work,  and  fully  answers  every 
objection.  .      .j 

tThe  only  treatise  on  this  subject  then  known  to  the  author,  besides  one 
by  Mosheim,  a  Lutheran,  is  by  Dr.  Williams.  I  believe  the  same  who 
advocated  the  cause  of  Modern  Calvinism,  and  answered  Whitby. 


SOLACE  I^OR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  151 

wishes  induced  me  to  prepare  them  for  the  press.  Some  work 
of  the  kind  is  imperatively  demanded.  Ahnost  all  parents  are 
called  to  endure  the  loss  of  children,  and  to  feel  the  need  of 
such  a  comforter.  Within  a  few  months  I  have  committed  to 
the  grave  thirteen  children,  from  within  the  bounds  of  my 
official  ministration.  Now  there  is  no  work  to  which  such 
parents  can  have  access,  for  of  all  those  enumerated  above,  I 
may  say,  they  are  printed  in  England ;  they  are  rare,  and  there- 
fore inaccessible.  Besides,  even  when  parents  may  have  a 
general  persuasion  of  the  safety  of  departed  infants,  yet,  when 
such  a  belief  is  not  founded  on  a  firm  and  clearly  established 
conviction  of  its  truth,  it  will  give  way  before  the  flood  of 
sorrow,  and  fail  to  support  in  the  hour  of  need.  Just  as  men 
sport  with  death  till  called  themselves  to  grapple  with  its 
terrors,  so  may  men  think  lightly  of  the  trial  of  a  bereaved 
parent,  until  they  stand  by  the  bedside  of  their  own  dying  child. 
But  then  will  they  earnestly  look  for  any  light  which  may 
irradiate  their  darkness,  calm  their  fears,  and  assuage  their 
grief.  A  writer  in  an  English  magazine,  speaking  of  the  death 
of  very  young  children,  thus  beautifully  remarks: — "The  soul 
of  the  cherub  child,  that  dies  on  its  mother's  breast,  wings  its 
way  to  heaven,  unconscious  of  the  joys  it  might  share  here,  as 
well  as  of  the  many,  many  miseries  of  which  it  might  be  par- 
taker. This  can  hardly  be  called  death.  It  is  but  the  calm, 
soft  ebbing  of  the  gentle  tide  of  life,  to  flow  no  more  in  the 
troubled  ocean  of  existence:  it  is  but  the  removal  of  a  fair 
creature — 'too  pure  for  earthly  stay' — to  make  one  of  that 
bright  band  of  cherubim  which  encompasses  in  glory  and  in 
joy  the  throne  of  the  living  God." 

But  glorious  as  the  change  might  be  to  the  little  one,  it  is 
hard  for  the  mother  to  part  thus  early  with  her  fair-haired 
innocent — to  break  ofif  all  the  delightful  ties  of  prattling  ten- 
derness that  had  bound  her  even  in  a  few  months,  to  that  gentle 
form  forever — 

'Tis  hard  to  lay  her  darling 

Deeo  in  the  cold,  damp  earth — 
His  empty  crib  to  see, 
His  silent  nursery, 

Once  gladsome  with  his  mirth. 


152  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

To  meet  again  in  slumber 

His  small  mouth's  rosy  kiss  ; 
Then  wakened  with  a  start 
By  her  own  throbbing  heart, 

His  twining  arms  to  miss ! 

To  feel  (half  conscious  why) 

A  dull,   heart-sinking   weight, 
Till  mem'ry  on  her  soul 
Flashes  the  painful  whole, 

That  she  is  desolate ! 

And  then  to  lie  and  weep, 

And  think  the  live-long  night 
(Feeding  her  own  distress 
With  accurate  greediness) 

Of  every  past  delight ; — 

Of  all  his  winning  ways. 

His  pretty  playful  smiles, 
His  joy.  his  ecstacy, 
His  tricks,  his  mimicry, 

And  all  his  little  wiles ! 

O  !  these  are  recollections 

Round  mothers'  hearts  that  cling — • 

That  mingle  with  the  tears 

And  smiles  of  after  years, 
With  oft  awakening ! 

That  this  Httle  volume  therefore  may  be  rendered  as  satis- 
factory as  possible,  it  will  be  proper  to  give  some  historical 
account  of  the  views  entertained  at  different  periods  of  the 
church  on  the  subject  of  the  salvation  of  infants.  This  will 
show  the  necessity  for  its  present  and  thorough  investigation ; 
and  at  the  same  time  expose  the  groundlessness  with  which  a 
belief  in  the  future  loss  or  damnation  of  infants  has  been 
charged  upon  Calvinists,  and  upon  Presbyterians,  as  a  doctrine 
peculiar  to  them,  or  involved  in  their  system  of  belief. 

Among  the  Jews,  the  hope  of  salvation  seems  to  have  been 
conifined  to  themselves,  and  to  their  children  who  had 
received  circumcision.  "They  imagined  that  the  law  of  Moses 
made  the  very  infants  of  the  Gentiles  be  treated  as  sinners  and 
hateful  to  God,  because  they  were  uncircumcised,  and 
descended  from  uncircumcised  parents.  They  of  course  imag- 
ined that  all  their  own  children  were  saved,  and  that  all  those 
of  the  Gentiles  perished.  It  is  partly  on  this  account  that  the 
apostle,  after  mentioning  the  universal  reign  of  death  from 
Adam  to  Moses,  distinctly  adds,  that  it  came  upon  infants,  as 
well  as  upon  adults,  without  distinction  of  Jew  and  Gentile ; 
and  then  shows  that  infants,  whether  they  descend  from  Gen- 
tiles or  Jews,  are  treated  as  sinners,  not  by  virtue  of  the  law  of 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  153 

Moses,  but  in  consequence  of  the  sin  of  Adam,  the  common 
father  of  the  human  race." 

A  corresponding  faith  was  early  developed  in  the  Christian 
Church.  Erroneous  views  of  baptism,  as  in  itself  communi- 
cative of  regeneration,  led  to  the  belief  of  its  absolute  necessity 
in  order  to  salvation.  Of  course,  those  who  failed  to  enjoy 
the  benefits  of  this  ordinance  were  believed  to  be  excluded 
from  all  participation  in  the  benefits  of  that  gospel,  with  which 
it  was  so  essentially  connected.  And  hence  it  was  supposed 
that  the  children  of  Christian  parents  who  were  not  baptized, 
as  well  as  all  others  in  the  same  unfortunate  condition,  were 
cast,  with  unbelievers,  into  hell  for  ever ;  or,  at  least,  excluded 
from  the  divine  presence,  and  the  blessedness  of  heaven. 

This  opinion  prevailed  generally  in  the  Church  until  after 
the  Reformation.  It  was  the  opinion  of  Augustine,  of 
Gregory,  Ariminiensis,  Driedd,  Luther,  Melanchthon,  Til- 
manus,  Heshusius,  "who  have  all  fallen  into  the  worst  of  St. 
Austin's  opinion,  and  sentence  poor  infants  to  the  flames  of 
hell  for  original  sin,  if  they  die  before  baptism."^'  "The 
Catholic  faith,"  says  Augustine,  "resting  on  divine  authority, 
believes  the  first  place  to  be  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  whence 
THE  UNBAPTizED  ARE  EXCLUDED;  and  the  secoud  Hell,  where 
every  apostle  and  alien  from  the  faith  of  Christ  will  experience 
eternal  punishments.  A  third  place  we  are  wholly  ignorant 
of,  nor  shall  we  find  it  in  the  Scriptures. "f 

The  decree  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  by  which  it  is  deter- 
mined that  "whosoever  shall  affirm  that  baptism  is  indifferent, 
that  is,  not  necessary  to  salvation,  let  him  be  accursed,"  is 
still  binding  on  the  Roman  Catholic  Church :  and  their  cate- 
chism also  teaches  that  children,  "be  their  parents  Christians 
or  infidels,  unless  regenerated  by  the  grace  of  baptism, 
are  born  to  eternal  misery  and  everlasting  destruc- 
tion."I  "Nothing,"  says  the  Council  of  Trent,  "can  be  appar- 
ently more  necessary,  than  that  the  faithful  should  be  taught, 
that  the  law  of  baptism  was  ordained  by  the  Lord  for  all  men ; 
so  that  unless  they  be  regenerated  by  God,  through  the  grace 

*See  Jer.  Taylor's  Works,  vol.  9,  p.  129. 

tAugust.  Hypostgnost.  Contra  Pelao:.  lib.  V.  torn.  iii.  Col.  1405.  C. 
Basil,  1569. 

ISee  Cramp's  Hist,  of  Council  of  Trent,  p.  129,  and  the  works  quoted. 


154  SOLACE  FOR  bi:reave;d  parents. 

of  baptism,  they  are  begotten  by  their  parents,  be  they 
believers,  or  unbeHevers,  to  everlasting  misery  and  perdition."^ 
"No  other  means  of  salvation,'^  adds  the  Catechism,  "is  sup- 
plied to  infants,  except  baptism  be  administered  to  them."** 
"There  is  a  third  place  for  infants,"  says  Bellarmine,  "who 
die  without  baptism.  This  Limbus  Puerorum  is  for  the  eternal 
punishment  of  loss  only :"  that  is,  "the  loss  of  the  presence  of 
God."ft  "Since,  then,"  adds  this  defender  of  the  Papacy, 
"infants  are  without  reason,  so  that  they  cannot  imitate  the 
sins  of  their  fathers,  and  are  nevertheless  punished  with  the 
most  severe  of  all  punishments,  that  is  to  say,  death  temporal 
and  eternal;  it  necessarily  follows  that  they  have  some  other 
sin,  for  which  they  are  justly  punished:  and  this  is  what  we 
call  original  sin.  It  cannot,  therefore,  be  doubted  that  infants 
(for  whom  it  is  shown  from  the  word  of  Christ  and  apostolical 
tradition  that  Baptism  is  necessary,)  have  sin,  which  they  bring 
with  them  from  their  mother's  womb."$:|: 

This  belief  passed  down  to  the  Reformed  Churches,  and  was 
at  first  very  generally  held.  The  Church  of  England  placed 
the  unbaptized  on  the  same  footing  with  the  suicide  and  the 
excommunicated,  and  denied  to  them  the  office  of  burial. §§ 
And  this  still  continues  to  be  the  doctrine  of  the  church,  and 
of  all  high-church  prelatists  who  agree  on  this  subject  with 
the  Romanists.  "Without  baptism,"  say  the  Oxford  Tracts, 
"none  can  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven. "*t  "And  so  momen- 
tous is  this  dogma  in  their  judgment,  that  one  leading  object," 
says  Mr.  Bridges,  himself  an  Episcopalian,  "of  their  great 
movement  confessedly  was  to  bring  it  more  fully  before  the 
church."$t 

§ConciI.  Trid.  Sess.  VII.  can.  v.  p.  51.     Romae,  1564. 

**Catechismus  ad  Parochos,  pp.  189,  191.     Lugduni,  1579. 

ttBellarm.  de  Purgat  1.  II.  chap.  vi.  torn.  ii.  p.  410.     A.  Colonise,  1628. 

i$Bellarm.  de  Amiss.  Gratise  et  Statu  Peccati,  lib.  IV.  c.  7,  torn.  iv.  p. 
61.     G.  62.  B. 

§§See  Burns'  Eccles.  Law,  vol.  i.  p.  266,  and  Wheatley  on  the  Book  of 
Prayer,  p.  477. 

*tVol.  i.  p.  260.  See  also  Dr.  Pusey's  work  on  Baptism,  passim.  Bethel 
on  Baptismal  Regeneration,  pp.  7,  8,  9,  &c. 

ttSee  his  Sacramental  Instruction,  p.  46,  47,  where  he  quotes  a  host  of 
authorities,  including  Perceval,  Keble,  Dr.  Pusey,  Sewell,  Bishop  Mant,  &c. 
It  woiild  even  appear  that  some  evangelical  Episcopalians  of  our  present 
day  are  unwilling  to  say  anything  about  the  future  condition  of  unbaptised 
children  who  die  in  infancy.  See  the  Churchman's  Monthly  Rev.  May, 
1843,  p.  372.  This  doctrine  of  the  absolute  necessity  of  baptism  to  salva- 
tion was  established  in  the  Western   church  by  papal  authority,   and  was 


solace;  for  bereaved  parents.  155 

The  question  of  the  future  condition  of  infants  became  thus 
involved  with  that  of  baptism,  and  was  not  considered  upon  its 
own  merits.  Ecclesiastics,  who  were  secluded  from  all  per- 
sonal interest  in  domestic  life,  were  of  course  insensible  to 
the  happiness  connected  with  the  enjoyment  of  children,  or  to 
the  distress  consequent  upon  their  loss.  The  fate  of  children 
awakened,  therefore,  but  a  relative  interest,  as  it  affected  other 
truths  considered  of  more  importance. 

The  horror  naturally  associated  with  this  fearful  doctrine 
was  nevertheless,  as  we  have  shown,  very  early  felt,  and  at 
different  times  manifested.  Various  theories  were  adopted  to 
throw  over  it  a  veil  of  charity,  and  to  render  it  more  tolerable 
to  the  wounded  spirit  of  mourning  parents.  In  the  time  of 
Augiistine,  Vincentius,  Victor  and  some  others  believed  that 
infants  dying  without  baptism  might,  notwithstanding,  be 
saved.*  This  opinion  was  favoured  by  some  of  the  School 
Divines,  in  reference  to  cases  where  baptism  could  not  be  had, 
inasmuch  as  it  was  the  will  of  the  parents  that  it  should  be 
enjoyed.f  Bernard,  Biel,  Cajetan,  and  some  others,  adopted 
this  charitable  supposition.!  And  so  also  did  Peter  Martyr, 
Wickliffe,  the  Hussites,  and  the  Lollards,  who  adopted, 
preached,  and  suffered  for,  all  those  doctrines  which  are  nozv 
denominated  Calvinistic.  But  this  opinion  has  been  consid- 
ered as  involving  unconquerable  difficulties.  Jeremy  Taylor 
says,  "What  will  be  the  condition  of  unbaptized  infants,  so 
dying,  I  do  not  profess  to  know  or  teach,  because  God  hath 
kept  it  as  a  secret. "§  Baxter,  with  all  his  charity,  and  perhaps 
too  liberal  views  of  Christian  doctrine,  could  only  go  so  far  on 
this  subject  as  to  say,  "I  think  that  no  man  can  prove  that  all 
unbaptized  infants  are  damned  or  denied  heaven.  Nay,  I  think 
I  can  prove  a  promise  to  the  contrary."  Beyond  "penitent 
believers  and  their  seed,"  he  says,  "what  God  may  do  for  others 
unknown  to  us,  we  have  nothing  to  do  with,  but  His  Covenant 
hath  made  no  other  promise  that  I  can  find."**     Similar  were 

retained  in  the  English  church  after  the  reformation,  until  the  year  1604, 
when  it  was  declared  to  be  necessary  "where  it  may  be  had."  See  Hallow 
on  the  Order  of  Baptism,  &c.,  and  Ogelby  on  Lay  Baptism,  p.  159,  160,  &c. 

*See  Jer.  Taylor's  Works,  vol.  ix.  p.  90. 

tSee  list  of  in  Hooker's  Works,  vol,  ii.  p.  219. 

JTer,  Taylor's  Works,  vol.  ix.  p.  91  and  9.3. 

§Jeremy  Taylor's  Works,  p.  92.      **See  Works,  vol.  v.  p.  326  and  323. 


loG  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

the  sentiments  of  Bishop  Hopkins:  "Not  only  infants  bap- 
tized," says  he,  "but  infants  of  believing  parents,  though  they 
should  unavoidably  die  before  baptism,  are  in  the  same  safe 
and  blessed  condition."  This,  however,  is  the  extent  to  which 
he  could  indulge  his  hopes. ff 

To  this  charitable  view  of  the  matter,  which  Calvinists,  and 
Calvinistic  Churches  generally  adopted,  the  Pelagians  could 
not  fully  assent.||  They  excluded  infants  when  unbaptized 
from  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  promised  to  them  an  eternal 
and  a  natural  beatitude.  This  opinion  was  embraced  by 
Ambrosius  Catharinus,  Albertus  Pighius,  and  Hieronymus 
Savanarola,  Gregory  Nazianzen,  Athanasius,  Ambrose,  Pope 
Innocent  III.,  and  others. §§  Hence  arose  the  present  doctrine 
of  the  Romish  Church,  which  teaches  that  there  is  a  limbus 
patriim,  or  place  on  the  borders  of  hell,  for  those  who  had 
believed  in  Christ  before  His  advent;  and  a  limbus  infantum, 
for  children  who  die  unbaptized. 

When  the  mists,  however,  which  had  gathered  round  the 
ordinance  of  baptism  were  gradually  dispersed,  this  subject 
was  examined  on  more  impartial  grounds.  The  natural  feel- 
ings of  the  heart  were  permitted  to  declare  their  interest  in 
the  decision  of  the  question.  The  hope  expressed  by  Wickliffe 
in  reference  to  unbaptized  children  was  eagerly  embraced  by 
his  followers,  who  were  all  Calvinists,  and  who  all  regarded 
baptism  in  its  truly  simple  and  scriptural  character.  Zuinglius 
was  perhaps  the  first  who  proclaimed  hope  for  the  salvation 

of  ALE  INFANTS,  WHETHER  CHRISTIAN  OR   HEATHEN,  who  died 

in  their  infancy,  and  before  they  became  chargeable  with  the 
guilt  of  actual  transgression.  He  maintained,  that  in  conse- 
quence of  the  atonement  of  Christ  offered  for  all,  "original  sin 
does  not  even  dainn  the  children  of  the  heathen."  For  this 
conclusion  concerning  children  generally,  Zuinglius  quotes 
Romans  v. ;  though  he  admits  that  we  have  but  little  light  upon 
the  subject.  He  rejects  the  idea  that  baptism  washes  away 
original  sin  and  condemnation.  The  blessing,  he  says,  is  not 
tied  to  signs  and  symbols ;  baptism  recognizes  and  attests  the 

ttSee  Works,  vol.  ii.  p.  429. 

t$See  the  Articles  of  the  Synod  of  Dort,  with  Scott's  Notes.  Works  of 
Scott,  vol.  viii.  p.  576. 

§§See  Jar.  Taylor,  vol.  ix.  p.  90. 


soivACE  FOR  bere;aved  pari^nts.  157 

privilege  rather  than  confers  it.  "What  scriptural  authority," 
he  asks,  "is  there  for  ascribing  such  an  effect  to  baptism?" 
"The  words  of  Mark  xvi.  16,"  says  he,  "relate  to  those  only 
to  whom  the  gospel  was  sent.  They  that  hear  the  gospel  and 
beheve  it  were  blessed;  they  who  hear  it,  and  believe  it  not, 
are  accursed.  But  this  is  no  prejudice  to  election,  for  both 
they  who  come  to  Christ  are  drawn  to  Him  by  the  Father, 
which  is  election :  and  they  who  come  to  the  Father  are  chosen 
by  Him ;  but  so  that  they  may  at  length  come  to  Him  by  Christ. 
The  (infant)  children  of  Christians  are  the  children  of  God 
by  virtue  of  the  covenant.  Concerning  the  children  of  heathens, 
we  decide  nothing:  though  I  confess  that  I  incline  to  the  senti- 
ment which  considers  the  death  of  Christ  as  available  to  the 
salvation  of  all  who  are  free  from  actual  sin."*  For  this  doc- 
trine Bossuet  charges  Zuinglius  with  being  a  Pelagian,  and 
pronounces  this  a  "strange  decision. "f  This  opinion  of  Zuin- 
glius excited  considerable  controversy. |  Eckard  says,  "per- 
haps Zuinglius  pronounced  too  liberally  when  he  included  the 
children  of  the  heathen."  The  same  doctrine  was,  however, 
maintained  by  Cornelius  Wigger,  and  by  John  lac-Schultens, 
who  embraced  in  the  decree  of  predestination  to  eternal  life 
those  who  die  in  infancy,  whether  born  of  Gentile  or  Infidel 
parents.  This  was  the  declared  sentiment  of  Arminius,§  Trig- 
landius,  Walders,  Heidanus,  Curcelleus,  Maresius.**  Mare- 
sius  says,  "The  question  is,  whether  the  decree  of  Election 
and  Reprobation  affects  infants.  There  is  not  the  smallest 
ground  from  Scripture  to  think  it  does.  Let  parents  then  be 
comforted  for  departed  children.  These  words  of  Christ, 
("of  such  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,")  why  are  they  so 
general,  but  that  they  seem  to  include  the  children  not  only 
of  believers  but  of  unbelievers  also.jf 

The  Remonstrants  believed  that  such  infants  as  were  not 
entitled  to  heaven  by  their  relation  to  the  covenanted  mercies 
of  God,  would  be  consigned  only  to  the  punishment  of  loss, 

*See  Epist.  fo.  17.  18.  Zuingl.  Op.  1.  382,  and  Scott's  Contin,  of  Milner, 
vol.  111.  p.  143,  144,  146. 

tSee  Hist.  Var.,  vol.  i.  p.  66. 

tSee  an  account  of  in  De  Moor's  Comment,  vol.  ii.  p.  104,  &c. 

§See  ditto. 

**See  ditto,  p.  105. 

ttSee  ditto. 


158  SOI/ACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

their  bodies  not  being  raised,  and  their  souls  not  being  annihi- 
lated, yet  being  eternally  separated  from  the  beatific  vision  of 
God4$ 

Many,  however,  regarded  the  decision  of  this  question  as 
presumptuous.  They  left  the  whole  matter  in  the  hands  of 
God,  determining  nothing  one  way  or  another,  but  quieting 
themselves  with  the  belief,  that  as  far  as  God's  purpose  of  sal- 
vation extended  it  would  be  secured ;  and  that  infants,  as  far 
as  included  in  it,  would  be  assuredly  ransomed.  Infants  were, 
however,  universally  regarded  as  involved  in  all  the  guilt  of 
original  sin,  and  as  requiring  for  their  salvation  the  exercise 
of  the  same  mercy,  and  the  bestowment  of  the  same  grace,  as 
adults.  They  were  described  by  some  as,  "damnabilibus  et 
forte  quihus  dum  ctiam  damnandis."\\  But  even  when  infants 
were  included  by  any  in  the  decree  of  Reprobation,  their  pun- 
ishment was  believed  to  consist,  not  in  the  positive  infliction 
of  misery,  but  only  in  the  deprivation  of  heavenly  rewards.§§ 

Calvin  clearly  recognized  the  fact  that  all  infants  are 
involved  in  the  guilt  of  Adam's  sin,  and  therefore  liable  to  the 
misery  in  which  it  has  involved  our  race.  But  at  the  same 
time  he  encourages  the  belief  that  they  are  redeemed  from 
these  evils  by  Christ,  are  capable  of  regeneration,  and  are, 
when  taken  away  in  infancy,  "redeemed  by  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb."  He  argues  against  those  who,  like  the  Anabaptists, 
asserted  that  regeneration  cannot  take  place  in  early  infancy. 
For  says  he,  "if  they  must  be  left  among  the  children  of  Adam, 
they  are  left  in  death,  for  in  Adam  we  can  only  die.  On  the 
contrary,  Christ  commands  them  to  be  brought  to  Him.  Why  ? 
because  He  is  life.  To  give  them  life  therefore  He  makes 
them  partakers  of  Himself,  while  these  men,  by  driving  them 
away  from  Him,  adjudged  them  to  death.*t  He  then  goes  on 
to  prove,  by  incontestible  arguments,  that  infants  both  have 
been,  and  can  be,  regenerated  by  God.  And  in  his  Commen- 
tary on  the  words  of  our  Saviour,  "Of  such,  &c.,"  without  any 
limitation  of  his  meaning,  he  unequivocally  declares,  that  "God 

tJSee  ditto,  p.  104. 

n  "Liable  to  damnation  and  perhaps  even  actually  damned." 
§§See   Stapfer,  vol.   iv.   p.   518.     On  the  ground   of  their  condemnation, 
see  Buddeus  Theol.  Do^m.  p.  .591. 
*tSee  Institutes,  B.  IV.  ch.  XVI. 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  159 

adopts  infants  and  washes  them  in  the  blood  of  His  Son,"  and 
that  "they  are  regarded  by  Christ  as  among  His  flock."  "In 
this  passage,"  he  says  elsewhere,  "Christ  is  not  speaking  of 
the  general  guilt  in  which  all  the  descendants  of  Adam  are 
involved,  but  only  threatening  the  despisers  of  the  gospel  who 
proudly  and  obstinately  reject  the  grace  that  is  ofifered  them; 
and  this  has  nothing  to  do  with  infants.  I  likewise  oppose  a 
contrary  argument :  all  those  whom  Christ  blesses  are 
exempted  from  the  curse  of  Adam  and  the  wrath  of  God ;  and 
as  it  is  known  that  infants  were  blessed  by  Him,  it  follows 
that  they  are  exempted  from  death."* 

Certain  it  is,  that  Calvinists  were  foremost  in  overthrowing 
the  dogma  that  baptism  was  essentially  connected  with  salva- 
tion, and  in  establishing  the  truth,  that  want  of  it  does  not 
militate  against  their  future  safety.f  It  is  well  known  that 
the  fomier  opinion  is  still  extensively  held  by  those  who  are 
opposed  to  Calvinistic  sentiments.  On  this  subject  Scott  in 
answer  to  Bp.  Tomline,  remarks,  "a  fezv  presumptuous, 
extravagant  Calvinists  have  spoken  shocking  things  of  the 
damnation  of  infants:  but  to  consign  the  innumerable  multi- 
tudes of  those  all  over  the  world,  and  in  every  age,  who  die 
before  they  commit  actual  sin,  and  die  unbaptized,  to  eternal 
damnation,  is  far  more  shocking.  Even  such  Calvinists  may 
suppose  some  of  these  children  to  be  elect  and  saved:  but  the 
sentiment  that  none  dying  when  infants,  except  such  as  have 
been  baptized  are  saved,  excludes  them  all."$  "The  most 
unfeeling  supra-lapsarian  never  ventured  on  so  dire  an  opinion 
as  to  consign  all  the  unbaptized  infants,  in  every  age  and  nation, 
to  eternal  misery."§  This  is  the  language  of  a  Calvinist 
addressed  to  that  large  body  of  his  own  church  who  oppose 
Calvinism,  and  take  occasion  to  impeach  its  charity.  Some 
Calvinists,  it  is  true,  have  in  former  times  avoided  the  decision 
of  this  question,  leaving  dying  infants  in  the  hands  of  a  mer- 

*Institutes,  book  iv.  chan.  16,  sec.  31,  vol.  ii.  p.  460.  See  also  pp.  461, 
456.  436.  43.5. 

tSee  Cartwright's  reply  to  Hooker  on  this  subject,  in  Hanbury's  Hooker, 
vol.  ii.  p.  221.  See  also,  Bp.  Hopkins'  Works,  vol.  ii.  p.  429  ;  Davenant 
on  Col.,  vol.  ii.  p.  448  ;  Heywood's  Works,  vol.  iv.  p.  447  ;  Pictet's  Theology, 
p.  399. 

tSee  Works,  vol.  vii.  p.  502. 

§See  Works,  vol.  x.  p.  407. 


IGO  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

ciful  God.  But,  "why,"  asks  the  same  writer,  "might  not 
these  Calvinists  have  as  favourable  a  hope  of  all  infants  dying 
before  actual  sin  as  Anti-Calvinists  can  have?"**  What  doc- 
trine of  the  most  rigid  Calvinism  is  there,  with  which  such  a 
hope  can  possibly  militate?  Is  it  the  doctrine  of  God's  sov- 
ereignty, whereby  is  attributed  to  Him  all  power  and  right  of 
dominion  over  His  creatures,  to  dispose  of  them,  and  to  extend 
or  withhold  favour,  as  seemeth  to  Him  good — but  why  may 
it  not  please  God,  in  the  exercise  of  this  sovereignty,  to  extend 
His  favour  to  all  dying  infants?  Is  it  the  doctrine  of  election, 
whereby  God,  out  of  His  mere  love,  for  the  praise  of  His 
glorious  grace,  to  be  manifested  in  due  time,  hath,  in  Christ, 
chosen  some  men  to  eternal  life  and  the  means  thereof — but 
why  may  not  dying  infants  be  among  those  chosen  ones  ?  Is  it 
the  doctrine  of  the  divine  decrees,  whereby,  for  His  own  glory, 
God  hath  fore-ordained  whatsoever  comes  to  pass,  especially 
concerning  angels  and  men — but  why  may  not  the  salvation 
of  all  dying  infants  have  been  thus  decreed?  Is  it  the  doctrine 
of  God's  free  and  rich  grace,  whereby  the  holiness,  obedience, 
and  righteousness  of  Christ  are  imputed  to  us  for  justification ; 
and  inherent  grace  is  wrought  in  the  heart  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  in  regeneration ; — but  why  may  not  this  grace  be 
imparted  to  all  dying  infants?  If  God  gives  us  hope  for  such 
in  His  blessed  Word,  then  is  it  not  manifest  that  their  salva- 
tion, instead  of  being  thrown  upon  the  contingency  of  human 
will ;  or  being  made  dependent  upon  human  efifort ;  or  con- 
nected with  the  moral  character  or  personal  agency  of  infants 
themselves ;  or  left  at  hazard,  through  the  indifference  or 
neglect,  of  men ; — is  based  by  these  doctrines  upon  the 
unchangeable  purpose,  and  the  all-sufficient  grace  of  God ;  and 
is  therefore  rendered  gloriously  certain  to  the  bereaved  and 
mourning  spirit  of  the  disconsolate  parent?  If,  however, 
rejecting  these  doctrines  (which  Calvinists  love  because  they-, 
in  charity  to  those  who  differ  from  them,  believe  to  be  doc- 
trines of  the  Bible)  we  make  election  to  rest  on  the  foreknowl- 
edge of  good  works ; — or  moral  character  to  depend  on  moral 
conduct ; — and  salvation  to  be  limited,  in  its  flow,  to  the  channel 
of  Christian  ordinances ; — then  what  hope  can  be  entertained 

**Do.  vol.  viii.  p.  573. 


solace;  for  bereaved  parents.  IGl 

for  those  who  have  been  taken  away  while  as  yet  they  could 
not  discern  good  from  evil; — while  without  any  moral  char- 
acter, and  thus  wholly  unfit  for  enjoyment  or  reward; — and 
while,  as  "nameless  things,"  they  have  never  passed  through 
the  "purifying  entrance"  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven?  We 
answer — none  that  is  reasonable  or  satisfactory. 

But  on  the  ground  of  Calvinism  this  hope  is  all  that  can  be 
desired,  and  arises  most  naturally  from  its  principles.  "In 
perfect  consistency,"  says  Dr.  Harris,  in  his  Essay  on  this  sub- 
ject, "with  their  theological  creed,  have  some  Calvinists  enter- 
tained opinion  advocated  in  the  preceding  pages ;  while  others, 
expressing  a  hope  of  its  truth  to  the  full  extent,  have  discov- 
ered the  wished-for  evidence,  in  favour  of  the  children  of  pious 
persons  only;  but  none  of  any  consideration  are  known  to  have 
maintained,  or  even  allowed,  that  the  inference  in  question 
(i.  e.  the  damnation  of  any  infants)  is  an  evident  and  neces- 
sary deduction  from  Calvinistic  doctrines.  In  direct  opposi- 
tion to  what  must,  therefore,  be  considered  an  unfounded 
aspersion,  it  would  require  but  little  labour  to  prove,  that  the 
great  peculiarities  of  this  system,  supply  the  most  tenable 

AND  SATISFACTORY  GROUNDS  OE  HOPE  EOR  THE  SALVATION  OE 
ALL  WHO  DEPART  THIS  LlEE  ANTECEDENT  TO  PERSONAL  TRANS- 
GRESSION." 

I  would  here  quote  the  language  of  one  of  our  oldest  and 
most  thoroughly  Calvinistic  Divines,  the  celebrated  William 
Perkins,  a  Puritan :  "Infants  have  no  works  whereby  they  may 
be  judged,  seeing  they  do  neither  good  nor  evil,  as  the  Scrip- 
ture speaketh  of  Jacob  and  Esau,  Rom.  ix.  11.  Therefore  all 
shall  not  be  judged  according  to  works.  Ans.  These  phrases 
of  Scripture,  as  a  man  sozvs,  so  shall  he  reap:  every  one  shall 
receive  according  to  his  zvorks,  &c.,  are  not  to  be  extended  to 
all,  but  must  be  restrained  to  such  as  have  works,  and  knowl- 
edge to  discern  betwixt  good  and  evil,  which,  infants  have  not. 
For  besides  that  they  are  destitute  of  works,  they  also  want 
the  use  of  reason;  and  therefore  they  shall  not  be  judged  by 
the  book  of  conscience,  but  by  the  book  of  life.  For  to  say 
as  Hugo  de  S.  Vict,  doth  upon  the  Romanes,  quaest.  59,  that 
they  shall  be  condemned  for  the  sins  which  their  parents  com- 
mitted in  their  conception  and  nativity,  as  though  they  them- 
11— Vol.  X. 


163  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

selves  had  actually  committed  them,  is  contrary  to  that,  B."ek. 
xviii.  20,  The  son  shall  not  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  Father. 

"Again,  some  may  say,  if  children  do  not  apprehend  Christ's 
benefits  by  their  parent's  faith ;  how  then  is  Christ's  righteous- 
ness made  theirs  and  they  saved?  Ans.  By  the  inward  work- 
ing of  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  is  the  principal  applier  of  all 
graces,  whereas  faith  is  but  the  instrument.  As  for  the  places 
of  Scripture  that  mention  justification  and  salvation  by  faith, 
they  are  to  be  restrained  to  men  of  years :  whereas  infants 
dying  in  their  infancy,  and  therefore  wanting  actual  faith, 
which  none  can  have  without  actual  knowledge  of  God's  will 
and  word,  are  no  doubt  saved  by  some  other  special  working  of 
God's  Holy  Spirit,  not  known  to  us."  "Infants,"  he  adds, 
''already  elected,  albeit  they,  in  the  womb  of  their  mother 
before  they  were  born,  or  presently  after,  depart  this  life,  they, 
I  say,  being  after  a  secret  and  unspeakable  manner,  by  God's 
spirit  engrafted  into  Christ,  obtain  eternal  life."  1  Cor.  xii. 
13.     Luke  i.  35,  -11,  61,  and  Jer.  i.  5.* 

And  equally  strong  speaks  the  great  Coryphaeus  of  Calvin- 
ism, v/ho  carried  out  its  principles  to  their  extremest  limits,  I 
mean  the  celebrated  Toplady.  In  his  vindication  of  the  Church 
of  England  from  Arminianism,  he  had  asserted  his  belief  in 
the  salvation  of  all  infants  dying  in  infancy.  This  opinion  his 
opponents  interpreted  as  involving  the  doctrine  of  general 
redemption.  "As  if,"  says  Toplady,  "all  died  in  infancy."  "I 
testify  my  firm  belief,  that  the  souls  of  all  departed  infants  are 
with  God  in  glory :  that,  in  the  decree  of  predestination  to  life, 
God  hath  included  all  whom  He  intended  to  take  away  in 
infancy ;  and  that  the  decree  of  reprobation  hath  nothing  to  do 
with  them."t 

"In  the  mean  while  (says  he)  I  should  be  obliged  if  he 
would,  with  the  help  of  Mr.  Wesley's  irradiation,  show  me 
what  becomes  of  departed  infants,  upon  the  Arminian  plan  of 
conditional  salvation,  and  election  of  good  works  foreseen." 

Dr.  Gill,  who  resembled  Toplady  in  carrying  out  the  prin- 
ciples of  Calvinism  to  their  extremest  limit,  also  resembled 
him  in  holding  this  comfortable  view  of  the  doctrine  of  elec- 

*Works,  Fol.  vol.  iii.  p.  386.     Vol.  ii.  p.  127,  and  vol.  i.  p.  77. 
tDitto,  vol.  i.  p.  207. 


SOLACK  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  1G3 

tion.  In  his  Complete  Body  of  Practical  and  Doctrinal 
Divinity,  he  makes  the  following  remark  on  the  case  of  infants 
dying  in  infancy:  "Now  such  a  number  as  they  are,  can  never 
be  thought  to  be  brought  into  being  in  vain,  God  is  and  wiU  be 
glorified  in  them ;  now  though  their  election  is  a  secret  to  us, 
and  unrevealed,  it  may  be  reasonably  supposed,  yea  in  a  judg- 
ment of  charity  it  may  rather  be  concluded,  that  they  are  all 
chosen,  than  that  none  are.  But  the  election  of  them  cannot 
be  owing  to  their  faith,  holiness,  obedience,  good  works,  and 
perseverance,  or  to  the  foresight  of  these  things,  which  do 
not  appear  in  them." 

I  may  refer  also  to  the  sentiments  of  Tyndale,  the  Trans- 
lator of  the  New  Testament  into  English  ;|  of  Pictet  the 
learned  Professor  of  Geneva  ;§  to  the  touching  letter  of  White- 
field  on  the  death  of  his  infant  son  ;**  of  Watts  to  a  lady 
bereaved  of  several  infant  children ;  and  of  the  pious  Ruther- 
ford to  a  lady  on  the  loss  of  a  daughter  ;tf  of  Addington,^ 
and  of  Robert  Hall  ;§§  of  Howe,*t  and  of  Cotton  Mather,$t 
and  of  Buchanan, §*  and  these  are  all  Calvinists. 

It  may  be  well,  however,  to  add  a  few  more  quotations  from 
Calvinistic  writers.  Dr.  Williams,  in  his  "Defence  of  Modern 
Calvinism"  against  the  attacks  and  misrepresentations  of 
Bishop  Tomline,  at  p.  75,  says:  "That  they  [infants]  are 
capable  of  regeneration  indeed,  is  admitted,  as  well  as  of 
remission,  justification,  holiness  of  nature,  and  heavenly  bless- 
edness ;  and  we  reflect  with  pleasure,  that  the  Holy  Scriptures 
afford  many  encouraging  intimations  relative  to  the  salvation 
of  dying  infants — whether  baptized  or  not.  Though  they  have 
no  hope,  we  have  hope  concerning  them."  The  same  view  is 
also  presented  in  that  noble  defence  of  Calvinistic  doctrine, 
the  Lime  Street  Lectures,  where  it  is  said,  "an  elect  infant  is 
as  capable  of  being  effectually  called,  or  renewed  by  grace,  of 

tSee  Works,  vol.  ii.  p.  516. 

§See  his  Theol.  B.  xi.  Chap.  iv.  pp.  494,  495,  and  p.  444,  445. 
**See  Life  of,  by  Philip. 
ttSee  Letters,  Part  2,  Letter  iii. 
$tWork  on  Baptism,  p.  62-64,  67,  76. 
§§ Works,  vol.  i.  p.  88,  89. 

*tWorks  of  John  Howe.  vol.  iv.  p.  4,  5,  and  vol.  vii.  p.  544,  5. 
ttSee  quoted  afterwards. 

§*Rev.  James  Buchanan  of  Edinburgh,  in  his  Office  and  Work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  Part  1,  ch.  viii.  on  the  Regeneration  of  Infants. 


164  SOI.ACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

being  freely  justified,  and  for  ever  glorified,  as  a  grown 
person."!!  Again,  at  another  place,  the  subject  is  more  fully 
discussed — "As  for  infants,  we  take  it  for  granted,  in  the 
present  argument,  that  they  are  conceived  in  sin,  and  shapen 
in  iniquity;  that  that  which  is  born  of  the  flesh,  is  flesh;  that 
they  are,  by  reason  of  the  disobedience  of  the  first  man, 
sinners,  and  so  unworthy  of,  and  unmeet  for,  the  heavenly 
glory,  and  must  be  excluded  from  it,  unless  washed  in  the 
blood  of  Jesus  and  sanctified  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  To  suppose 
them  all,  or  indeed  any  of  them,  to  perish  is  to  be  cruelly 
WISE  ABOVE  WHAT  IS  WRITTEN :  and  to  imagine  they  are  so 
holy,  as  to  need  no  cleansing,  or  that  any  thing  defiled  can 
enter  into  heaven,  is  directly  flying  in  the  face  of  Scripture : 
so  that,  though  we  are  not  told  positively  what  is  their  portion ; 

yet  WE  MAY  SAFELY  DETERMINE  THAT  THEY  ARE  MADE  MEET, 
IF  IN  HEAVEN,  FOR  THAT  INHERITANCE  WHICH  IS  INCORRUPT- 
IBLE AND  UNDEFILED." 

I  will  only  add  to  those  authorities  the  following  remarkable 
quotation  from  the  National  Covenant  adopted  in  Scotland  in 
the  year  1581,  again  in  1590,  1638,  1639,  1640,  1650  and  1651. 
"But,"  says  this  venerable  document,  in  detailing  the  enormous 
errors  of  the  Roman  Antichrist,  "in  special  we  detest  and 
refuse  his  cruel  judgment  against  infants  departing  without 
the  Sacrament,  and  his  absolute  necessity  of  baptism,"  &c.* 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Scott,  the  author  of  the  Commentary,  and 
another  of  the  boldest  defenders  of  the  Calvinistic  doctrines, 
says,  "I  do  not  propose  it  as  an  article  of  faith ;  for  it  is  not 
expressly  revealed  (though  it  appears  to  be  favoured  in  scrip- 
ture) that  as  infants,  without  actual  transgression,  are  involved 
in  the  ruin  of  our  race  by  the  first  Adam,  so  infants,  as  such, 
dying  before  actual  transgression,  before  they  are  capable  of 
knowing  right  from  wrong,  are,  without  personal  repentance 
and  faith,  but  not  without  regeneration,  made  partakers  of  the 
salvation  of  the  second  Adam.  I  do  not  say,  'It  is  so ;'  but, 
'probably  it  may  be  so.'  And,  when  we  consider  what  a  large 
proportion  of  the  human  race,  in  every  age  and  nation,  die  in 
infancy,  it  appears  to  me  a  cheering  thought." 

IIP.  279,  280,  Eng.  ed. 

*See  Irving's  Confessions,  p.  135. 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  165 

Thus,  also,  speaks  Newton :  "I  hope  you  are  both  well  recon- 
ciled to  the  death  of  your  child.  Indeed,  I  cannot  be  sorry  for 
the  death  of  infants.  How  many  storms  do  they  escape ! 
Nor  can  I  doubt,  in  my  private  judgment,  that  they  are 
included  in  the  election  of  grace.  Perhaps  those  w-ho  die  in 
infancy  are  the  exceeding  great  multitudes  of  all  people, 
nations,  and  languages  mentioned  (Rev.  vii.  9.)  in  distinction 
from  the  visible  body  of  professing  believers,  who  were 
marked  in  their  foreheads,  and  openly  known  to  be  the  Lord's." 

But  these  quotations  it  is  unnecessary  to  multiply.  In  the 
Presbyterian  churches,  including  the  Congregational,  which 
embrace  the  doctrinal  portions  of  the  Westminster  Confession 
of  Faith,  there  is,  it  is  true,  no  canonical  determination  on  this 
subject.  This  Confession  says:  "Elect  infants,  dying  in 
infancy,  are  regenerated  and  saved  by  Christ  through  the 
spirit."t  It  teaches,  therefore,  the  certainty  of  the  sal- 
vation OF  ALL  infants,  WHO  ARE  ELECT.  It  also  teaches  that 
baptism  is  not  necessarily  connected  with  grace  and  salvation, 
and  that  exclusion  from  it  does  not  exclude  from  regenera- 
tion.:!: It  teaches  further  that  infants,  though  incapable  of 
exhibiting  their  faith,  may  be  regenerated. §  It  leaves  every 
one  therefore  from  an  examination  of  the  Scriptures  to  decide 
how  far  the  electing  love  of  God  extends.  At  this  time  it  is, 
I  suppose,  universally  believed  by  Presbyterians,  and  those 
who  hold  to  the  doctrine  of  election,  that  all  dying  infants  are 
included  among  the  elect,  are  made  heirs  of  grace,  and  become 
members  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  I,  at  least,  am  not 
acquainted  with  any  who  hold  an  opposite  sentiment.  Pos- 
sibly, when  the  doctrine  is  extended  to  the  infants  of  Heathen 
parents,  some  might  not  be  prepared  fully  to  concur  in  it ;  but 
that  there  is  ground  from  Scripture  to  believe  that  even  they 
are  included  in  the  promises  of  Divine  mercy,  and  are,  as  Mr. 
Toplady  confidently  says,  "all  undoubtedly  saved,"  is,  I  have 
no  doubt,  an  opinion  to  which  Presbyterians  will,  generally, 
subscribe. 

tCh.  10,  sec.  3. 
tCh.  28,  sec.  5. 

§See  note  3,  and  see  Larachi  Op.  Tom,  ii.  p.  47.  Dick's  Theol.  vol.  iv. 
p.  75,  and  Calvin's  Instit.  13,  4. 


166  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

The  assertion,  however,  is  still  frequently  and  most  slander- 
ously published,  that  Calvinists  believe  that  children,  dying  in 
infancy,  are  damned;  that  this  is  the  doctrine  of  our  confes- 
sion of  faith ;  and  that  Calvin  expressly  taught  that  there  are 
infants  in  hell  only  a  span  long.  Nothing,  however,  can  be 
more  untrue.  As  to  the  opinion  of  Calvinists,  we  have  shown 
that  it  is  now  universally  in  favour  of  the  hope  that  all  chil- 
dren dying  in  infancy  are  saved  through  the  merits  of  Christ's 
death,  applied  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  Calvin,  also,  as  has  been 
shown,  was  among  the  very  first  of  the  reformers  to  overthrow 
the  unchristian  and  most  horrible  doctrine  of  the  Romish  and 
High-church  divines,  that  no  unbaptized  infant  can  be  saved; 
to  maintain  the  possibility  of  their  regeneration  by  the  Spirit 
without  baptism;  and  to  encourage  the  hope  of  their  general 
salvation.  And  as  to  the  passage  in  the  Westminster  Confes- 
sion of  Faith,  which  is  supposed  to  teach  the  damnation  of 
infants,  it  is  contained  in  ch.  x.  sec.  3,  and  is  as  follows : 

"Elect  infants,  dying  in  infancy,  are  regenerated  and  saved 
by  Christ  through  the  Spirit,  who  worketh  when,  and  where, 
and  how  He  pleaseth.  So  also  are  all  other  elect  persons,  who 
are  incapable  of  being  outwardly  called  by  the  Ministry  of  the 
Word." 

The  subject  of  this  chapter  is  "effectual  calling,"  by  which, 
it  is  believed,  that  "all  those  whom  God  hath  predestinated 
unto  life  He  is  pleased,  in  His  appointed  time,  effectually  to 
call  out  of  that  state  of  sin  and  death  in  which  they  are,  by 
nature,  to  grace  and  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ,"  &c.  (See  Sect. 
I.) — The  Confession  proceeds  in  Sect.  2d,  to  say:  "This  effec- 
tual call  is  of  God's  free  and  special  grace  alone,  not  from  any 
thing  at  all  foreseen  in  man,  who  is  altogether  passive  therein, 
until  being  quickened  and  renewed  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  he  is 
thereby  enabled  to  answer  this  call,  and  to  embrace  the  grace 
offered  and  conveyed  in  it." 

But  if  this  is  so,  says  the  objector,  then  does  not  this  doc- 
trine apparently  exclude  infants  from  any  participation  in  this 
salvation,  since  they  clearly  are  not  capable  of  obeying  this 
call,  and  of  embracing  this  offered  grace.  The  Confession, 
however,  proceeds  to  obviate  this  objection  by  showing  that, 
as  this  calling  in  itself  considered,  and  the  power  and  the  dis- 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  167 

position  to  answer  this  call,  and  embrace  the  grace  conveyed 
in  it,  is  a  different  thing  from  that  answer  and  embrace — there 
is  no  more  difficulty  in  bestowing  this  quickening  and  renewing 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  infants  than  upon  adults. 
Infants  as  well  as  adults  may  be  thus  effectually  called  and 
regenerated,  though  adults  only  are  in  a  state  fitting  them  to 
act  upon  this  call  by  the  exercise  of  their  renewed  powers  and 
sanctified  will.  Regenerated  infants  are  equally,  with  adults, 
endued  with  a  renewed  and  holy  disposition,  which  will 
develop  itself,  when  the  subject  is  capable,  in  holy  acts.  Our 
Confession,  therefore,  wisely,  charitably,  and  scripturally  con- 
cludes, that  this  grace  is  co-extensive  with  God's  electing  love 
and  mercy,  and  is  bestowed  upon  the  objects  of  that  love, 
whether  they  are  removed  from  this  world  in  a  state  of 
infancy,  or  of  maturity.  It  overthrows  the  doctrine  of  Roman- 
ists, High  Church  Episcopalians,  and  others,  who  teach  that 
this  grace  of  salvation,  by  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  is 
tied  down  and  limited — first,  by  what  they  most  vainly  and 
arrogantly  call  the  only  true  Church,  to  wit,  the  Romanist  or 
Episcopal  Churches,  and  secondly  by  the  ordinances  of  bap- 
tism as  administered  in  these  churches ;  and  what  the  passage 
does  decide,  is,  as  Calvinists  now  universally  agree  in  believing, 

THAT  THERE  IS  EVERY  REASONABLE  GROUND  TO  HOPE  THAT  ALL 
INFANTS  DYING  IN  INFANCY  ARE  INCLUDED  IN  THE  DECREE  OE 
ELECTION    AND    ARE    MADE    PARTAKERS    OF    EVERLASTING    LIFE.* 

This,  then,  is  the  view  of  Calvinists ;  and  while  it  favours  the 
most  unbounded  charity  and  hope,  it  rests  that  hope,  not  upon 
anything  in  the  infant  itself,  nor  Uipon  anything  done  for  it 
by  any  church,  but  upon  the  sure  purpose  of  a  merciful  God, 
and  the  comfortable  promises  and  declarations  of  His  word. 

AxMONG  ALL  EVANGELICAL  DENOMINATIONS  THIS  OPINION  IS 

NOW  RECEIVED.  We  have  given  the  names  of  Evangelical 
Episcopalians.  Gillard,  whose  treatise  I  have  mentioned,  was, 
I  presume,  both  a  Baptist  and  a  Calvinist.  Dr.  Gill's  senti- 
ments have  been  alluded  to,  and  they  are  quoted  with  appro- 
bation in  the  Baptist  Confession  of  Faith.     The  Rev.  Robert 

*Thus   Dr.   Gumming,   of  the   Scotch   Church   in   London,   has   lately  pub- 
lished a  Discourse  to  prove  that  all  children  dying  in  infancy,  or  before 

THE  YEARS  OF  RESPONSIBILITY,  ARE,  WITHOUT  ONE  EXCEPTION  OR  LIMITATION 
AS   TO  THE  CHARACTER   OR   THE  CONDUCT  OF  THE   PARENTS,    SAVED. 


168  SOIvACi:  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

Robinson,  who  has  written  the  History  of  Baptism,  thus 
expresses  himself :  "Various  opinions  concerning  the  future 
state  of  infants  have  been  adopted.  The  most  probable 
opinion  seems  to  be,  that  they  are  all  saved  through  the  merit 
of  the  Mediator,  with  an  everlasting  salvation.  This  hath 
nothing  in  it  contrary  to  the  perfections  of  God,  or  to  any 
declarations  of  the  holy  scriptures ;  and  it  is  highly  agreeable 
to  all  those  passages,  which  affirm,  ivhere  sin  hath  abounded, 
grace  hath  much  more  abounded.  On  these  principles,  the 
death  of  Christ  saves  more  than  the  fall  of  Adam  lost." 

Wesley  does  not  appear  to  have  determined  this  question  at 
all.  The  salvation  of  all  dying  in  infancy  is,  however,  the 
prevalent  belief  among  his  followers.  The  Rev.  Richard 
Watson,  who  is  deservedly  regarded  as  the  ablest  writer,  and 
as  a  standard  authority  among  the  Methodists,  very  powerfully 
advocates  this  opinion. f 

This  is  also  the  established  belief  of  the  Lutheran  Church,^ 
as  it  is  of  the  Quaker  denomination. § 

But  whence,  we  ask,  arose  this  community  of  opinion?  It 
originated,  as  has  been  shown,  among  the  Calvinists.  The 
battle  for  liberty  and  charity  of  opinion  against  the  dogmas  of 
the  Papacy  was  fought  by  them.  Even  when  light  had  not 
irradiated  the  subject,  and  it  was  still  shrouded  in  the  darkness 
of  prejudice,  many  Calvinists,  rather  than  yield  to  the  gloom 
of  the  generally  entertained  opinion  that  all  unbaptized  infants 
perish,  groped  about  for  any  possible  theory  that  might  relieve 
them  of  their  distress.  Some,  as  I  have  shown,  threw  a  veil 
of  impenetrable  darkness  over  the  whole  subject,  and  regarded 
an  entrance  upon  its  examination  as  presumption.**  Others 
were  induced  to  believe  that  the  souls  of  all  such  children 
would  be  annihilated.ft  Others,  that  their  souls  remained  in 
a  state  of  insensibility  either  to  good  or  evil.$$  All  advocated 
the  possibility  of  their  salvation — the  practicability  of  their 

tSee  his  Institutes,  vol.  ii.  p.  228,  and  vol.  iii.  p.  72. 

tSee  Schmucker's  Theology,  128,  and  p.  220.  Storr  &  Flatt's  Theology, 
sec.  68,  p.  394.  Mosheim  wrote  a  treatise,  which  we  have  not  seen,  ©n 
this  subject. 

§See  Barclay's  Apology. 

**See  De  Moor's  Stapfer,  Doddridge,  (sec.  168,)  Baxter. 

ttThis  was  Dr.  Watts'  laboured  hypothesis. 

tJDr.  Ridgley  advocated  this  opinion. 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  169 

regeneration — and  all  denied  the  absolute  necessity  of  baptism 
to  either.  And  can  any  one  deny  that  the  present  clear  and 
settled  views  on  this  subject  have  been  introduced  by  Calvin- 
ists  ?  Let  him  only  remember  that  every  one  of  the  w^orks  apd 
discourses  on  the  subject  to  which  I  have  alluded,  were  written 
by  Calvinists ;  that  almost  all  the  selections  I  have  been  enabled 
to  collect  are  from  writers  holding  the  same  views;  and  that 
much  even  of  the  finest  of  our  Poetical  Selections,  are  from 
authors  whose  muse  was  guided  by  Calvinistic  views.  Our 
work,  in  fact,  may  be  regarded  as  a  noble  testimony  to  the 
truly  CHARITABLE  nature  of  those  much  abused,  because  mis- 
understood, doctrines  which  most  Evangelical  churches  agree 
in  adopting.  And  surely  it  may  be  expected,  that  these  facts 
will  give  joy  and  consolation  to  those  Christians  whose  ideas 
of  Calvinism  have  been  such  as  to  lead  them  to  cherish  the 
prejudices  that  are  so  commonly  and  so  ignorantly  entertained, 
and  enable  them  to  cultivate  more  kind  and  liberal  feelings 
towards  Calvinistic  churches. 

And  that  the  reader  may  still  more  clearly  perceive  how 
much  bereaved  parents  are  indebted  to  Calvinism  for  the 
present  comfortable  and  established  hopes  for  dying  infants, 
let  me  call  his  attention  to  the  conflicting  opinions  which  once 
prevailed  on  this  much  controverted  subject,  as  they  are  given 
by  Baxter: 

"Some  think  that  all  infants  (baptized  or  not)  are  saved 
from  hell,  and  positive  punishment,  but  are  not  brought  to 
heaven,  as  being  not  capable  of  such  joys. 

"Some  think  that  all  infants  (dying  such)  are  saved  as 
others  are,  by  actual  felicity  in  heaven,  though  in  a  lower 
degree.  Both  these  sorts  suppose  that  Christ's  death  saveth 
all  that  reject  it  not,  and  that  infants  reject  it  not. 

"Some  think  that  all  unbaptized  infants  do  suffer  the  'poenam 
damni,'  and  are  shut  out  of  heaven  and  happiness,  but  not  sen- 
sibly punished  or  cast  into  hell.  For  this  Jansenius  hath  wrote 
a  treatise ;  and  many  other  Papists  think  so. 

"Some  think  that  all  the  children  of  sincere  believers  dying 
in  infancy  are  saved,  (that  is,  glorified,)  whether  baptized  or 
not ;  and  no  others. 


170  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

"Some  think  that  God  hath  not  at  all  revealed  what  He  will 
do  with  any  infants. 

"Some  think  that  all  the  adopted  and  bought  children  of  true 
Christians,  as  well  as  the  natural,  are  saved  (if  baptized,  say 
some;  or  if  not,  say  others.) 

"Some  think  that  elect  infants  are  saved,  and  no  other. 

"Some  think  that  all  that  the  pastor  dedicateth  to  God  are 
saved. 

"Some  think  that  this  is  to  be  limited  to  all  that  have  right 
to  baptism  'coram  Deo ;'  which  some  think  the  Church's  recep- 
tion giveth  them. 

"And  some  think  it  is  to  be  limited  to  those  that  have  right 
'coram  ecclesia,'  or  are  rightfully  baptized." 

To  use  the  words  of  Dr.  Russell,  in  his  valuable  Essay  on 
this  subject,  "Though  the  great  question  is,  'What  saith  the 
scriptures?'  and  not,  What  saith  this  or  the  other  reformer? 
yet,  as  names  are  sometimes  used  as  the  means  of  reproaching 
the  innocent,  and  misleading  the  unwary,  and  the  unin- 
formed, it  may  be  proper  to  state,  that  there  is  nothing 
in  the  great  peculiarities  of  the  system  commonly  called  Cal- 
vinism which  is  in  the  least  incompatible  with  the  salvation  of 
infants.  On  the  contrary,  that  system,  as  now  held  by  its 
enlightened  advocates,  furnishes  the  most  tenable  and  satis- 
factory grounds  for  the  pleasing  persuasion,  that  all  who  die 
without  personal  transgression,  are  written  in  the  Lamb's  book 
of  life.  Accordingly,  very  many  of  its  most  decided  friends 
have  avowed  their  conviction  of  this,  in  relation  to  all  dying 
in  infancy.  And  even  some  of  the  very  highest,  if  not  even 
hyper-Calvinists,  have  expressed  themselves  favourably  in 
regard  to  it. — This,  for  instance,  has  been  done  by  Dr.  Gill, 
who  says,  'that  many  unguarded  expressions  have  been 
dropped,  concerning  the  punishment  of  such,  which  are  not  at 
all  to  the  credit  of  truth. §§  Mr.  Toplady,  to  whom  we  have 
already  referred,  has  given  an  explanation  of  our  Lord's  admo- 
nition in  Matth.  xviii.  10,  which  (supposing  it  to  be  just) 
affords  a  direct  proof  of  the  sentiment  in  question.  'Take 
heed  that  ye  despise  not  one  of  these  little  ones,  for  I  say  unto 

§§Body  of  Divinity,  vol.  ii.  p.  543. 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  171 

you,  that  in  heaven  their  angels  do  always  behold  the  face  of 
my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.'  He  understands  by  their 
angels,  'the  souls  of  such  children  as  die  in  their  infancy,'  who 
upon  their  bodies  being  previously  'dislodged  by  death,  do 
always  behold  the  face  of  God,  who  is  in  heaven.'*  It  were 
well,  if  all  of  the  opponents  of  Calvinism  would  take  the  advice 
given  by  Bishop  Horsley  to  his  enemies,  'Take  special  care 
before  you  aim  your  shafts  at  Calvinism  that  you  know  what 
it  is.'  Not  a  few  who  profess  to  hold  that  system,  are  but 
little  acquainted  with  it,  and  confound  certain  illegitimate 
inferences  drawn  from  it,  with  hostility  to  the  system  itself, 
while  Anti-Calvinists  continue  to  charge  the  friends  of  Calvin- 
ism with  holding  those  inferences  in  the  face  of  repeated 
denials.  This  is  very  unfair.  I  refer  here,  in  particular,  to 
the  doctrine  of  sovereign  reprobation,  and  to  what  is  connected 
with  it.  It  is  a  fact,  too,  that  some  who  wish  to  be  considered 
the  only  friends  of  Calvinism,  hold  sentiments  which  were  by 
no  means  held  by  Calvin,  and  not  seldom  represent  sentiments 
as  Arminian,  which  were  actually  held  by  him.  In  a  word,  let 
candour  be  exercised,  and  never  let  those  be  blamed  as  inimical 
to  a  particular  system,  who  may  be  unwilling  to  admit  some 
unjust  and  exceptionable  inferences,  which  have  been  rashly 
drawn  from  it,  because  they  appear  to  them  injurious  excres- 
cences, that  deform  and  weaken  its  strength." 

It  is  no  little  thing,  when  a  fresh  soul 

And  a  fresh  heart,  with  their  unmeasured  scope 

For  good,  not  gravitating  earthward  yet. 

But  circling  in  diviner  periods. 

Are  sent  into  the  Vv'orld, — no  little  thing, 

When  this  unbounded  possibility 

Into  the  outer  silence  is  withdrawn. 

Ah,  in  this  world,  where  every  guiding  thread 

Ends  suddenly  in  the  one  sure  centre,  death, 

The  visionary  hand  of  Might-have-been 

Alone  can  fill  Desire's  cup  to  the  brim  ! 

The  spirit's  sight  grows  clearer  :  this  was  meant 
When  Jesus  touched  the  blind  man's  lids  with  clay. 
Life  is  the  jailer.  Death  the  angel  sent 
To  draw  the  unwilling  bolts  and  set  us  free. 

'T  is  the  work 
Of  many  a  dark  hour,  and  of  many  a  prayer, 
To  bring  the  heart  back  from  an  infant  gone  ! 
Hope  must  give  o'er,  and  busy  fancy  blot 

♦Historic   proof   of  the    Calvinism   of   the    Church    of   England.     Introd, 
p.  78. 


l'J'3  SOIvACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 


Its  images  from  all  the  silent  rooms. 

And  every  sight  and  sound  familiar  to  her 

Undo  its  sweetest  link ;  and  so,  at  last, 

The  fountain  that,  once  loosed,  must  flow  forever. 

Will  hide  and  waste  in  silence.     When  the  smile 

Steals  to  her  pallid  lip  again,  and  spring 

Wakens  its  buds  above  thee,  we  will  come, 

And,  standing  by  thy  music-haunted  grave, 

Look  on  each  other  cheerfully,  and  say, 

A  child  that  zee  have  loved  is  gone  to  heaven. 

And  by  this  gate  of  floxvers  she  passed  away! 

Willis. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Necessity  for  Discussing  the  Doctrine  oe  the  Sal- 
vation oE  Infants. 

O  Lord,  the  message  from  Thy  throne  has  come ! 

We  hear  Thy  voice,  and  give  her  back  to  Thee ; 
With  tears  we  lay  our  darling  in  the  tomb ; 

In  faith  her  spirit  at  Thy  feet  we  see. 

Death  is  one  of  the  profoundest  mysteries  of  Nature. 
With  all  the  light  which  science  has  thrown  around  it;  with 
all  the  increased  knowledge  we  have  acquired  of  its  phe- 
nomena; life,  in  its  origin,  in  its  nature,  and  in  its  cessation, 
remains  as  incomprehensible  as  ever.  We  stand  amazed  at  the 
entrance  into  our  world  of  a  new,  living,  and  active  being — 
the  miniature  of  man — breathing  the  same  air,  and  exercising 
the  same  functions,  incapable  of  instruction,  and  yet  displaying 
the  most  perfect  knowledge,  wholly  unable  to  help  himself,  and 
yet  exhibiting  the  most  inimitable  skill.  How  then  are  we 
filled  with  horror,  when  that  same  being,  even  in  its  beauty, 
"a.  thing  all  health  and  glee,"  is  prostrated  by  some  invisible 
power,  upturns  its  glazed  eye,  and  with  the  quivering  of  its 
soft  lip  and  the  convulsion  of  its  little  limbs,  sinks  into  the 
waxen  form  of  death. 

Were  an  inhabitant  of  some  other  world,  where  immortality 
was  the  duration  of  existence,  and  perpetual  bloom  the  appear- 
ance of  the  outward  form,  by  any  chance  to  visit  this ;  probably 
he  would  first  be  attracted  by  the  glory  of  that  same  God  he 
had  ever  worshipped,  written,  as  it  is,  in  such  lines  of  magnifi- 
cence and  beauty  upon  the  heavens  above,  and  upon  the  firma- 
ment around.  The  same  wisdom,  goodness  and  power,  in 
which  he  had  ever  rejoiced,  would  shine  forth  resplendently 
from  every  star,  and  from  every  mountain,  lake  and  valley. 
The  same  chorus  sung  by  those  above,  ascribing  glory,  honour, 
majesty  and  praise  unto  God  Most  High,  would  echo  from  the 
earth  beneath,  and  swell  the  anthem  of  the  skies.  He  would 
still  feel  in  his  own  breast  the  spirit  of  piety — the  spirit  of  joy, 
and  peace,  and  devotion; — and  he  would  still  feel  that  he 
moved  amid  the  wonders  of  His  creating  hand  who  fills  the 
universe  with  his  praise. 


174  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

But  what  would  be  the  emotions  of  this  stranger,  when  he 
turned  his  gaze  towards  the  inhabitants  of  this  fair  creation? 
When  he  saw  sickness  or  pain — bed-ridden  decrepitude,  or 
helpless  old  age, — when  he  heard  groans  and  lamentations,  the 
voice  of  misery  and  care,  or  the  loud  wail  of  bereavement — in 
every  household?  When  he  beheld  the  moving  form  of 
strength,  and  beauty,  and  intelligence,  withered  by  the  blast 
of  death,  become  pale,  motionless,  and  ghastly — how  great 
would  be  his  unutterable  terror !  Surely  he  would  at  once  con- 
clude that  they  were  a  race  of  bold  and  hardened  sinners, 
against  .whom  the  fierceness  of  the  anger  of  the  Almighty  was 
poured  out. 

But  when  he  observed  yet  longer — when  he  saw  man  in  the 
innocency  of  his  first  young  dawn,  with  rosy  lip  and  cherub 
eye,  his  countenance  radiant  with  smiles,  and  his  heart  filled 
with  love,  as  yet  unconscious  of  his  relation  to  his  God,  and 
incapable  of  wilfully  offending  Him, — when  he  saw  this  young 
voyager  not  yet  well  launched  upon  the  ocean  of  life — wrecked 
upon  its  very  coast,  cast  among  its  roughest  breakers,  shattered 
by  its  fiercest  storms,  and  borne  into  eternity  by  most  disas- 
trous calamity ; — when  he  saw  the  cradle,  instead  of  being  a 
place  of  rest,  converted  into  a  little  hospital,  and  its  babe, 
instead  of  a  gentle  sleeper  laughing  through  its  sweet  dreams 
of  yet  untasted  happiness,  a  sufferer  torn  and  agonized  by 
writhing  and  convulsive  torture,  with  the  cup  of  life  dashed 
from  its  lips  ere  it  had  well  tasted  of  its  hopes  or  its  blessings — 
would  he  not  exclaim,  "My  God,  and  can  it  be !  Is  not  this 
thine  own  creation?  Are  not  these  thine  own  oft'spring?  If, 
then,  parents  are  wicked,  and  deserve  thy  wrath,  yet  surely 
these  'innocents'  might  be  spared  their  sufferings.  What  fiend 
of  darkness  has  gained  possession  of  this  earth,  and  fixed  here 
his  empire  of  horrid  cruelty?  'Thy  judgments,  O  Lord,  are 
a  great  deep.     They  are  unsearchable,  and  past  finding  out.'  " 

Truly,  these  feelings  would  not  be  strange  in  such  a  visitant, 
at  such  a  sight.  They  would  be  our  own,  were  we  not 
familiarized  to  such  scenes  of  woe.  For,  while  reason  might 
teach  us  that  it  was  well  for  those  who  had  outlived  the  activi- 
ties and  the  joys  of  life  to  leave  it — that  they  were  happy  who, 
ere  that  period  of  imbecility  arrived,  had  retired  from  its  com- 


SOI^ACli  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  175 

ing  ills ; — yet  never  could  we  learn  from  reason  alone  that  it 
was  rig-ht,  or  that  it  was  well  for  those  who  had  passed  through 
the  painful  entrance  of  life,  and  had  not  yet  awakened  to  the 
realization  of  its  joys,  to  be  driven  through  its  still  more  pain- 
ful exit.  No !  Death  is  the  profoundest  mystery  of  Nature, 
and  the  sufferings  and  death  of  infants  the  profoundest  mys- 
tery of  Death. 

Nay,  my  reader,  have  you  not  yourself  felt,  in  some  hour  of 
sad  bereavement,  the  unsearchable  mystery  of  this  dispensa- 
tion of  Providence?  I  address  myself  now  to  those  who,  like 
myself,  are  the  parents  of  children  who  were,  but  are  not. 
When  in  the  very  fulness  of  life,  while  buoyant  with  playful 
mirth,  and  drinking  in  the  promise  of  a  happy  future,  and 
while  forming  to  you  the  objects  of  so  many  tender  solicitudes 
and  fond  hopes,  you  saw  your  beloved  child  bowed  down  by 
the  presence  of  some  sudden  disease ; — when  unable  to  tell  its 
woes  you  saw  its  playfulness  forsake  it ;  its  smiles,  one  by  one, 
depart;  the  happy  expression  of  its  sweet  countenance  give 
place  to  one  of  painfulness;  its  strength  gradually  fail;  its 
voice  become  too  weak  to  utter  even  the  lisping  name  of  its 
loved  nurse  or  parent; — when  you  watched  beside  the  little 
sufferer,  incredulous  that  it  could  die,  as  it  sunk  rapidly  into 
insensibility,  until  at  last  the  glazed  eye,  the  unmoving  chest, 
the  pulseless  arm,  and  the  inexpressible  solemnity  of  Death 
startled  you  into  the  awful  truth  that  it  was  gone ; — oh  !  in  that 
hour  of  intensest  agony,  did  there  not  seem  to  fall  upon  a 
world,  ere  while  fair  and  bright,  one  wide  covering  of  gloom  ? 
Did  there  not  appear,  amid  the  busiest  haunts  of  men,  to  be 
the  silence  of  desolation?  Did  not  life  cease  to  have  any 
charms,  fortune  any  attractions,  and  earth  itself  any  possible 
endurance  ? 

"Upon  the  pallid  face  of  the  dead  infant,  there  are  awfully 
mysterious  hieroglyphics,  which  reason  cannot  decipher,  at 
the  depth  of  which  nature  staggers  and  grows  faint.  Christi- 
anity alone  reads  them.  She  pours  from  the  fountain  of  truth, 
living  light  into  each  dark  symbol,  and  illuminates  it  with  the 
rays  of  the  past,  and  the  lights  of  the  future,  showing  death 
once  victorious  by  sin,  but  now  for  ever  vanquished  by  Christ." 
Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who, 


176  SOI.ACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

by  the  gospel,  has  brought  to  us  that  light  by  which  I  feel  that 
I  can  confidently  sustain  the  answer  I  would  give  to  the  inter- 
rogatory of  such  a  perplexed  inquirer.     Children  are  taken 

AWAY  IN  INFANCY  NOT  IN  ANGER,  BUT  IN  MERCY,  AND  NOT  FOR 
OUR    PUNISHMENT    MERELY,    BUT    MUCH    MORE    FOR    OUR    GOOD. 

Death  is  to  them  a  kindness,  to  us  a  blessing.  They  are 
removed  from  this  world  in  mercy  to  them  and  in  goodness  to 
us.  These  are  the  two  points  to  which  I  shall  now  call  the 
attention  of  my  reader. 

Pray  unto  God,  my  friend,  that  these  considerations  may 
prove  comfortable  and  beneficial  to  your  disconsolate  heart. 

I  cannot  make  him  dead ! 

His  fair  sunshiny  head 
Is  ever  bounding  round  my  study  chair  ; 

Yet  when  my  eyes,  now  dim 

With  tears,  I  turn  to  him. 
The  vision  vanishes — he  is  not  there  ! 

I  walk  my  parlour  floor. 

And  through  the  open  door, 
I  hear  a  footfall  on  the  chamber  stair  ; 

I'm  stepping  toward  the  hall. 

To  give  the  boy  a  call. 
And  then  bethinks  me  that — he  is  not  there ! 

I  tread  the  crowded  street, 

A  satchel'd  lad  I  meet. 
With  the  same  beaming  eyes  and  coloured  hair ; 

And,   as  he's  running  by, 

Follow  him  with  my  eye. 
Scarcely  believing  that — he  is  not  there  ! 

I  know  his  face  is  hid 

Under  the  coffin  lid  ; 
Closed  are  his  eyes  ;  cold  his  forehead  fair ; 

My  hand  that  marble  felt ; 

O'er  it  in  prayer  I   knelt  ; 
Yet  my  heart  whispers  that — he  is  not  there ! 

I  cannot  make  him  dead ! 

When  passing  by  his  bed. 
So  long  watched  over  with  parental  care, 

My  spirit  and  my  eye 

Seek  it  inquiringly. 
Before  the  thought  comes  that — he  is  not  there ! 

When  at  the  cool,  grey  break 

Of  day,  from  skep  I  wake. 
With  my  first  breathing  of  the  morning  air. 

My  soul  goes  up  with  joy. 

To  Him  who  gave  my  boy ; 
Then  comes  the  sad  thought  that — he  is  not  there ! 

When  at  the  day's  calm  close, 

Before  we  seek  repose, 
I'm  with  his  mother,  offering  up  our  prayer, 

Whate'er  I  may  be  saying, 

I  am,  in  spirit,  praying 
For  our  boy's  spirit,  though — he  is  not  there ! 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  177 


Not  there  ? — Where,  then,  is  he  ? 

The  form  I  used  to  see 
Was  but  the  raiment  that  he  used  to  wear. 

The  grave,  that  now  doth  press 

Upon  that  cast-off  dress. 
Is  but  his  wardrobe  locked  ; — he  is  not  there ! 

He  lives ! — In  all  the  past 

He  lives  ;  nor,  to  the  last, 
Of  seeing  him  again  will  I  despair ; 

In  dreams  I  see  him  now, 

And  on  his  angel  brow, 
I  see  it  written,  "Thou  shalt  see  me  there!" 

Yes,  we  all  live  to  God ! 

Father,  Thy  chastening  rod 
So  help  us,  thine  afflicted  ones,  to  bear, 

That  in  the  spirit  land. 

Meeting  at  Thy  right  hand, 
'Twill  be  our  heaven  to  find  that — he  is  there! 


MIDNIGHT. 
Far  oflf  the  clocks  are  striking, 

'Tis  midnight's   deepest  shade  ; 
The  lamp  but  feebly  glimmers, — 

Thy  little  bed  is  made. 

Around  the  house  go  mourning 

The  winds  so  drearily  ; 
Within  we  sit  in  silence, 

And  listen,  as  for  thee. 

Dreaming  that  we  shall  hear  thee 

Knock  softly  at  the  door. 
Aweary  with  thy  wandering, 

Glad  to  return  once  more. 

Poor  fools !  thus  to  dissemble  ! 

The  fond  hope  will  not  stay ; 
We  make  and  feel  too  surely 

Thy  home  is  far  away. 

From  the  German  of  Eichendorff. 


'T  was  a  tiny,  rosewood  thing, 
Ebon   bound,   and   glittering 
With  its  stars  of  silver  white. 
Silver  tablet,  blank  and  bright. 
Downy  pillowed,  satin  lined, 
That  I,  loitering,  chanced  to  find 
'Mid  the  dust,  and  scent  and  gloom 
Of  the  undertaker's  room. 
Waiting,  empty — ah  !  for  whom  ? 

Ah  !  what  love-watched  cradle  bed 
Keeps  to-night  the  nestling  head, 
Or  on  what  soft,  pillowed  breast 
Is  the  cherub  form   at  rest, 
That  ere  long,  with  darkened  eye. 
Sleeping  to  no  lullaby, 
Whitely  robed,  and  still,  and  cold. 
Pale  flowers  slipping  from  its  hold, 
Shall  this  dainty  couch  enfold? 

Ah  !  what  bitter  tears  shall  stain 
All  this  satin  sheet  like  rain. 
And  what  towering  hopes  be  hid 
'Neath  this  tiny  coffin  lid, 
Scarcely  large  enough  to  bear 
Little  words  that  must  be  there. 


12— Vol.  X. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ChiIvDren  Are  Taken  Away  in  Infancy  in  Mercy  to 

Them. 

When  the  Archangel's  trump  shall  blow, 

And  souls  to  bodies  join  ; 
Millions  will  wish  their  lives  below 

Had  been  as  short  as  thine. 

It  will  be  our  object  in  this  chapter  to  show  that  the  dis- 
pensation of  Providence  by  which  children  are  removed  in 
infancy  is  ordered  in  mercy  to  them. 

It  is  so,  considered  as  it  affects  them  temporally.  Their 
early  dismissal  from  all  the  pains  and  perils  of  this  mortal  life, 
is  a  manifestation  of  tenderness :  it  shows  a  willingness  to  save 
from  all  unnecessary  trial,  and  an  unwillingness  needlessly  to 
afflict. 

Life,  at  its  very  best  estate,  is  vanity.  In  its  full  splendour 
of  gaiety  it  is  "vexation  of  spirit."  When  ambition  has  scaled 
the  very  loftiest  height  of  its  proudest  aspiration,  it  feels  its 
loneliness  and  misery  more  keenly  than  ever. 

Ah  !  litlle  deemest  thou,  my  child, 

The  way  of  life  is  dark  and  wild  ! 

Its  sunshine  by  a  light  whose  play, 

Serves  but  to  dazzle  and  betray  ; 

Weary  and  long — its  end  the  tomb, 

Whose  darkness  spreads  her  wings  of  gloom, 

That  resting-place  of  things  which  live, 

The  goal  of  all  that  earth  can  give. 

So  universal  is  this  estimate  of  the  present  fashion  of  this 
sin-ruined  world,  that  even  heathen  philosophy  pronounced  the 
early  dead  the  favourites  of  the  gods. 

Lady,  we  have  much  cause  to  thank  ourselves 
Toucliing  oiu-  daughter  bless'd  ;  for  'mong  the  gods 
Commercing  she  in  truth  resides.* 

The  Christian  dead,  then,  under  the  smiles  of  Heaven  are 
early  delivered  from  this  vain  unsatisfying  portion.  Tell  it 
not  at  Rome,  or  Athens,  lest  the  philosophers  of  Paganism 
should  rejoice  over  the  v/eakness  of  Christianity. 

The  great  proportion  of  tho.se  who  do  live  to  mature  years, 
become  entirely  estranged  from  God,  and  live  without  Him, 
and  without  hope  for  the  world  to  come.     But  by  their  early 

*Euripid.  Iphig,  1.  1804. 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  179 

removal  from  the  temptations  arising  from  the  world,  the  flesh 
and  the  Devil,  infants  are  forever  preserved  from  such  open 
apostacy.  Should  they,  on  the  other  hand,  be  supposed  to  live 
and  become  holy  and  devoted  Christians,  then  it  is  to  be 
remembered  that  in  this  w^orld  "the  righteous  shall  have  tribu- 
lation, for  through  much  tribulation  they  must  enter  the  king- 
dom of  God,  they  must  suffer,  and  then  enter  into  glory ;"  and 
that  from  an  entrance  upon  this  path  of  sorrow,  this  narrow 
road,  this  way  of  the  cross,  such  infants  are  forever  delivered. 
The  apprehension  of  coming  evils,  which,  like  ghosts,  haunt 
our  paths  and  mock  our  joys,  is  a  most  fruitful  source  of 
misery  to  man;  but  from  all  such  anticipations  of  distress, 
whether  real  or  imaginary,  the  early  dead  have  been  most 
effectually  protected.  The  coldness  of  those  who  should  have 
been  our  warmest  friends;  the  averted  countenance  of  those 
who  had  once  smiled  upon  us  in  perfect  love  ;  and  the  estranged 
affections  of  the  heart  in  which  our  soul  had  found  its  home ; — 
these,  oh  these,  are  some  of  the  bitterest  of  earth's  many  disap- 
pointments. The  infant  dead ! — they  pass  from  love,  to 
love ; — from  the  bosom  of  their  earthly,  to  that  of  their 
Heavenly  Parent; — from  that  love  which  is  the  only  bliss  of 
time,  to  that  which  is  the  rapture  of  heaven.  And  finally, 
death  is  the  great  tormentor  of  mankind,  through  fear  of  whom 
men  are  all  their  lives  subject  to  bondage,  and  by  whose  grim 
shadow  a  fearfulness  is  made  to  surprise  them  in  their  most 
gladsome  hours.  But  death  has  for  these,  no  sting  The 
grave  for  these,  is  encompassed  by  no  shadows.  Eternity 
frowns  upon  these  with  no  foretokenings  of  ill. 

Parents — art  thou  then  full  of  tears, 

Because  thy  child  is  free 
From  the  earthly  strifes,  and  human  fears 

Oppressive  even  to  thee  ? 
No  !  with  the  quiet  dead. 

Baby,  thy  rest  shall  be  ; 
Oh  !  many  a  weary  wight, 
Weary  of  life  and  light, 

Would  fain  lie  down  with  thee. 

Considering,  then,  the  present  condition  of  human  life — the 
character  too  generally  acquired  by  those  who  are  actors  on  its 
stage ;  the  peculiarly  trying  lot  of  all  who  will  not  be  "of  the 
world,"  but  will  "live  above  it :"  that  self-tormenting  power 
of  apprehending  future  calamity  which  reason  gives  us ;  the 


180  SOLACE  FOR  BERE:avED  PARENTS. 

many  bitter  trials  of  the  heart  which  every  one  who  trusts  in 
man  so  continually  experiences;  and  the  awful  darkness  which, 
thick  as  Erebus,  sin  has  gathered  round  the  dread  hour  of 
human  dissolution ; — and  can  we  not  say,  that  the  arrangement 
of  Providence,  by  which  one  half  the  human  family  is  cut  off 
from  the  possible  experience  of  these  mortal  ills,  is  a  dispensa- 
tion of  mercy.  This  is  our  conclusion  from  the  contemplation 
of  human  life,  not  in  its  worst,  but  in  its  best  aspect,  not  when 
tried  with  more  than  usual  adversity,  but  in  its  ordinary  state 
of  mingled  good  and  evil.  We  have  only  supposed  them  to 
meet  that  current  which  all  must  breast,  and  pointed  to  those 
shocks  which  all  must  encounter.  How  much  stronger,  then, 
would  our  inference  be,  were  we  to  make  the  supposition  in 
regard  to  each  individual  child,  that  it  was  taken  away  from 
the  evil  to  come,  and  plucked  as  a  brand  out  of  that  fire  of 
evil  where  it  might  have  been  salted  with  the  fire  of  guilt,  and 
eventually  have  perished. 

"O  God,  spare  my  child !"  were  the  words  of  an  affectionate 
and  almost  idolizing  mother,  as  she  bent  over  the  side  of  her 
dying  child.  The  little  sufferer,  unconscious  of  its  situation, 
was  in  a  burning  fever.  The  sands  of  life  were  fast  running 
out,  and  the  darting  pain  seemed  well  nigh  to  rend  the  spirit 
from  the  body.  The  piteous  moan  pierced  the  heart  of  the 
fond  mother,  and  drove  her,  as  the  last  resort,  to  the  throne 
of  grace,  where  she  poured  out  her  soul  in  prayer  that  her 
darling  would  be  spared. 

Nor  was  the  cry  unheeded.  She  heard  a  voice,  saying, 
"Child  of  earth !  since  thou  art  unwilling  to  trust  thine 
offspring's  destiny  in  the  hands  of  thy  heavenly  Father,  thy 
prayer  is  answered.  His  fate  is  in  thy  hands.  Whether  he 
live  or  die,  is  for  thee  to  decide." 

A  momentary  thrill  of  joy  rushed  through  the  mother's 
heart,  at  these  words;  but  it  was  only  momentary.  She  felt 
the  reproof.  "Alas !"  she  exclaimed,  "how  shall  I  decide  the 
fate  of  my  child?  Should  he  recover,  perhaps  he  will  prove 
a  bitter  curse  to  me  hereafter,  and  he  may  bring  down  my  grey 
hairs  to  the  grave.  But  how  can  I  see  him  die,  when  it  is  in 
my  power  to  save  his  life?  O,  that  I  had  left  his  fate  with 
Him  who  gave  him  to  me!"     Filled  with  remorse   for  her 


solace;  for  BEREAVIiD  PARENTS.  181 

unwise  and  undutiful  conduct,  she  again  betook  herself  to 
prayer,  beseeching  her  heavenly  Father  to  remove  from  her 
so  fearful  a  responsibility. 

Again  her  prayer  was  heard  and  answered.  O,  rash  child! 
why  didst  thou  repine  at  thy  lot?  Couldst  thou  look  into 
futurity,  and  behold  thy  child  in  the  years  of  manhood?  Or 
couldst  thine  eyes  pierce  the  vale  of  eternity,  and  behold  the 
scenes  that  await  him  there?  Why,  then,  didst  thou  not,  like 
a  confiding  child,  submit  to  the  will  of  thy  Father,  knowing 
that  He  will  do  only  that  which  is  for  thy  good?  Thou  hast 
prayed  to  be  delivered  from  this  responsibility;  thy  prayer  is 
answered.  Go,  and  learn  from  this  never  to  repine  at  the 
allotments  of  Providence. 

The  child  died;  and  as  the  mother  took  her  last  look,  and 
then  resigned  him  to  the  grave,  she  meekly  adopted  the  lan- 
guage of  one  who  had  drank  deep  of  the  bitter  cup  of  afflic- 
tion,— "The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away ;  blessed 
be  the  name  of  the  Lord." 

And  now  let  us  consider  this  dispensation  as  it  affects  infants 
eternally,  and  we  shall  find  as  indubitable  evidence  that  it  is 
grounded  in  mercy  to  them. 

Revelation  is  the  only  source  of  our  knowledge  of  eternity. 
The  ignorance  and  helplessness  of  human  reason,  and  of  all 
merely  human  research,  we  have  already  exposed.  To  scan 
the  ways  of  God,  to  fathom  the  depths  of  His  judgments,  or 
understand  the  mystery  of  His  moral  government — these  are 
w'holly  impotent.  They  are  no  beitter  than  the  magicians  of 
Pharoah,  or  the  astrologers  of  Belshazzar,  humbled  and  con- 
founded before  the  stupendous  mysteries  of  heaven.  It  is 
then  "to  the  law  and  to  the  testimony"  we  must  look  for  our 
guidance  in  this  high  path  of  investigation.  And  here  must 
we  call  to  mind  the  nature  of  that  revelation,  as  intended  not 
to  make  known  the  whole  compass  of  God's  divine  proceed- 
ings, but  only  so  much  of  His  ways  as  are  necessary  for  man, 
in  his  present  temporary  state.  It  is  a  lamp  hung  up  midway 
between  earth  and  heaven,  to  guide  from  the  darkness  of  the 
one,  to  the  glory  of  the  other; — it  is  not  that  heaven  itself,  in 
all  the  fulness  of  its  splendours,  or  the  extent  of  its  adminis- 
trations, brought  down  to  the  comprehension  of  man. 


182  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

To  whom  then  does  this  revelation  directly  and  specially 
address  itself?  The  answer  will  be  found  by  considering  its 
precepts,  its  duties,  its  ordinances,  its  threatenings,  and  its 
announcements  of  future  retribution.  Its  precepts  address 
themselves  to  those  who  can  understand; — its  duties  are 
enjoined  upon  those  who  can  obey; — its  ordinances  are  adapted 
to  those  who  have  knowledge  to  discern  and  improve  them ; — 
its  threatenings  strike  terror  into  hearts  capable  of  despising 
them; — and  its  future  judgment  is  a  day  of  destiny  to  all  the 
workers  of  iniquity,  to  all  the  rejectors  of  mercy.  It  is  then 
at  once  apparent,  that  the  immediate  and  direct  bearing  of  the 
annunciations  of  revelation  is  upon  adults,  and  not  upon 
infants.  The  Bible  was  written  for  adults,  and  the  Gospel 
proclaimed  to  adults,  though  the  blessings  they  announce  are 
designed  for  all.  The  character,  condition,  and  prospects  of 
adults,  and  not  of  infants,  form,  therefore,  the  burden  of  reve- 
lation. Their  condition,  considered  as  living  and  dying,  while 
merely  infants,  is  not  its  subject  matter.  Infants  are  neces- 
sarily referred  to,  but  only  incidentally,  as  connected  with  the 
great  business  of  this  heavenly  message.  If  then  there  is  no 
distinct  declaration  in  the  Bible  militating  against  the  salvation 
of  infants,  when  dying  as  such,  that  salvation  we  may  regard 
as  certain,  since  infants  can  never  violate  a  precept,  neglect  a 
duty,  despise  an  ordinance,  provoke  a  threatening,  or  incur  a 
judgment  of  this  holy  book. 

Inasmuch,  then,  as  Revelation  addresses  itself  distinctly  and 
immediately  to  those  who  are  capable  of  understanding  and 
obeying  it ; — it  is  all  important  to  inquire  how  far  children,  as 
such,  are  similar  in  their  circumstances  and  relations,  to  those 
of  mature  years.  They  are  similar,  in  their  relation  to  Adam 
as  the  great  representative  of  the  human  family,  for  "in  Adam 
all  die,"  and  death  has  come  upon  all  men,  even  upon  those 
who  have  not  sinned  after  the  similitude  of  Adam's  transgres- 
sion, because  all  have  sinned."  They  are  similar,  inasmuch  as 
they  are  like  full  grown  men,  mortal.  "It  is  appointed  unto 
them"  as  well  as  unto  all  others  "once  to  die."  There  is  one 
event  to  the  aged  and  to  the  young,  to  the  child  of  a  span  long, 
and  the  man  a  hundred  years  old : — "they  must  lie  down  alike 
in  the  grave  and  the  worms  cover  them."     They  are  similar 


SOlrACU  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  183 

to  men  also,  in  that  depravity  of  nature,  which  results  from  the 
withdrawment  of  those  chartered  benefits  forfeited  by  Adam, 
as  the  representative  of  the  human  family ;  for  ''they  are  born 
in  sin,"  and  are  "children  of  wrath,"  the  "natural  heart  being 
enmity  to  God."  They  are  also  similar  to  men  in  their  help- 
lessness; in  their  entire  inability  to  change  their  own  nature, 
alter  their  own  wills,  or  transform  their  own  hearts  into  the 
image  and  likeness  of  God.  They  are  similar  to  adults  in  their 
ignorance  of  the  true  God,  of  Jesus  Christ  whom  He  sent,  of 
the  way  of  salvation,  and  of  eternal  life ;  for  "the  natural  heart 
understandeth  not  the  things  of  God,  neither  can  it  do  so,  for 
they  are  spiritually  discerned."  They  are  similar,  in  their 
capacity  for  progressive  improvement,  being  destined  to  an 
interminable  being,  with  powers  which  are  illimitable  in  their 
exercise.  And  they  are  similar,  in  their  susceptibilities  of 
happiness,  these  being  always  measured  by  the  degree  of  their 
development. 

Such  are  the  important  points  of  similarity  between  infants 
and  those  in  mature  life.  How  far  then  will  this  similarity 
involve  infants  in  the  awful  responsibility  and  fearful  hazards 
connected  with  such  a  condition  of  guilt,  sinfulness  and  degra- 
dation? That  it  would  have  been  equitable  in  God,  apart  from 
the  consideration  of  the  plan  of  salvation,  to  include  infants 
in  the  consequences  of  the  fall,  and  to  involve  them  in  the  com- 
mon ruin  of  their  entire  species,  we  cannot,  for  a  moment, 
doubt;  because  we  see,  in  fact,  that  they  are  so  involved  and 
made  to  experience  the  bitterness  of  its  sad  results,  as  far  as 
this  involves  temporal  suffering  and  death.  But,  in  such  a 
case,  we  may  imagine  that  none  would  have  died  in  mere 
infancy,  but  that  all  would  have  been  permitted  to  grow  up  to 
a  period  of  perfect  moral  agency,  and  to  act  out  their  own 
character  of  vile  depravity ;  and  that  all  men  would  have  been 
put  under  an  equal  lot,  been  allowed  an  equal  opportunity  of 
receiving  or  rejecting  the  gospel,  and  had  their  fate  determined 
under  a  perfectly  equal  administration. 

The  Adamic  constitution  cannot,  however,  in  fact  or  argu- 
ment, be  disconnected  from  the  Messianic  constitution.  The 
federal  relation  of  the  first  Adam,  cannot  be  severed  from  the 
federal  relation  of  the  second  Adam.     The  one  was  mtroduc- 


184  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

tory  to  the  other; — the  one  was  supplementary  to  the  other. 
The  one  was  never  designed  to  exist  without  the  other,  nor 
the  evils  consequent  upon  the  one  to  be  endured,  without  the 
more  abounding  blessings  of  the  other.  When  God,  from 
eternity,  arranged  the  plan,  by  which  Adam,  under  the  most 
favourable  circumstances,  should  represent  his  race.  He 
devised  also  the  plan  by  which  the  second  Adam  should  take 
the  place  of  fallen  humanity,  and  represent  it  before  eternal 
justice.  "Wherefore  as  by  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world, 
and  death  by  sin,  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have 
sinned.  Therefore,  as  by  the  offence  of  one,  judgment  came 
upon  all  men  to  condemnation;  even  so  by  the  righteousness 
of  one  the  free  gift  came  upon  all  men  unto  justification  of  life. 
For  as  by  one  man's  disobedience  many  were  made  sinners,  so 
by  the  obedience  of  one  shall  many  be  made  righteous." 

The  question  then  to  be  determined  is,  not  what  would  have 
become  of  infants,  had  they  been  left  to  meet  all  the  conse- 
quences of  their  natural  condition ; — not  whether,  being  equally 
guilty  and  depraved  and  helpless,  with  full  grown  sinners,  they 
were  not  equally  deserving  of  eternal  separation  from  God; 
nor  whether  such  an  infliction  of  the  sentence  pronounced  on 
all,  would  have  been  righteous ;  but  it  is  whether  now,  under 
another  constitution,  even  that  of  a  mediator,  the  second  Adam, 
who  has  entered  into  the  guilty  position  and  sustained  the  curse 
resting  on  the  first,  and  upon  all  his  posterity;  whether  now, 
since  redemption  from  that  primal  curse,  and  cleansing  from 
that  original  depravity,  and  entire  deliverance  from  that  native 
unworthiness,  have  been  procured  through  the  Almighty 
Saviour;  whether  now,  children  are  or  not  interested  in  these 
blessings,  and  partakers  of  them  ? 

Now,  just  so  far  as  scripture  is  silent  upon  this  point,  we 
may  feel  assured  that  it  is  so  from  the  fact,  that  infants,  dying 
such,  come  not  under  its  proclamation  of  duty,  and  therefore 
are  not  referred  to  in  those  overtures  of  mercy,  which  are  to 
be  received  or  rejected,  by  voluntary  agents  to  whom  alone 
they  are  addressed.  We  may  be  perfectly  satisfied,  since  God 
has  exercised  infinite  mercy  in  providing  salvation  from  the 
guilt  and  misery  of  the  fall ;  and  since  He  has  been  pleased  to 
remove  one-half  of  the  entire  human  race  at  a  time  when  they 


SOLACK  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  185 

could  not  possibly  enjoy  through  their  personal  agency,  any 
benefit  from  such  merciful  provision;  that  having  all  died  in 
Adam,  these  shall  all,  in  Christ,  be  made  alive ;  and  that  having 
by  one  man's  disobedience  been  all  constituted  sinners,  they 
shall  through  one  man's  obedience  be  all  made  righteous.  And 
W'hen  in  connexion  with  this  we  state,  what  is  universally 
admitted,  that  so  far  as  scripture  does  cast  its  light  upon  the 
subject,  it  is  the  light  of  encouragement  and  hope,  the  conclu- 
sion amounts,  we  think,  to  a  moral  certainty.  For,  on  what 
other  principle  can  we  have  any  conceivable  explanation  of 
that  dispensation  of  Providence,  by  which  one  entire  half  of 
all  earth's  inhabitants  are  swept  from  this  state  of  condemna- 
tion and  of  hope,  before  they  can  open  their  mind  to  the  com- 
prehension either  of  their  fall  in  Adam,  or  their  recovery  in 
Christ?  Are  they  not  at  once  removed,  before  they  become 
personally  guilty,  that  they  may  with  certainty  enjoy  the  bless- 
ings of  salvation?  Would  not  God  have  permitted  all  to 
reach  a  period  of  maturity,  and  thus,  in  their  own  person, 
receive  or  reject  His  mercy,  and  be  pronounced  worthy  or 
unworthy  of  an  inheritance  among  the  saints  in  light? 

And  what  does  scripture  intimate  on  this  subject?  We  have 
said  that  infants,  like  full  grown  men,  are  mortal,  and  that 
death  comes  upon  them,  inasmuch  as  they  have  sinned  in 
Adam.  Now,  the  Bible  declares,  that  they  shall  be  partakers 
of  that  resurrection  which  is  the  fruit  of  Christ's  death,  and 
through  which  death  itself  shall  be  abolished,  and  the  grave 
despoiled  of  its  victims.  We  have  said  that  infants  stand 
equally  related  to  Adam  and  his  consequent  fall  guilt,  and  ruin, 
with  those  who  are  adult.  But  in  the  gospel  we  are  taught, 
that  great  as  was  that  fall,  greater  is  this  redemption ;  that 
extensive  as  were  the  ravages  of  the  one,  much  more  multiplied 
are  the  blessings  of  the  other ;  and  that  great  reason  as  we  have 
to  mourn  over  the  one,  infinitely  greater  may  all  have,  to 
rejoice  in  the  other.  For  as  in  Adam  all  died,  so  in  Christ 
might  all  have  been  made  alive.  "Not  as  the  offence,  so  also 
is  the  free  gift,  for  the  judgment  was  by  one  (offence)  to  con- 
demnation, but  the  free  gift  is  of  many  offences  unto  justifica- 
tion." This  free  gift  is  offered  for  the  reception,  and  is,  in  its 
own  nature  and  sufficiency,  adequate  to  the  justification,  of 


186  soivACE  FOR  bere;avii>  parents. 

all  men.  And  since,  it  is  by  their  unbelief  and  rejection  of 
this  gift,  that  the  wrath  of  God  will  come,  unimpeded,  upon 
guilty  and  ungrateful  men,  infants  being  incapable  of  rejecting 
it.  are  not,  we  may  hope,  "condemned  with  the  world." 

Christ  took  upon  Him  our  nature,  to  sanctify  and  to  save  it, 
and  passed  through  the  several  periods  of  it,  even  unto  death, 
which  is  tlie  symbol  and  effect  of  old  age ;  and,  therefore,  it  is 
certain  he  did  sanctify  all  the  periods  of  it:  and  why  should 
He  be  an  infant,  but  that  infants  should  receive  the  crown  of 
their  age,  the  purification  of  their  stained  nature,  the  sanctifi- 
cation  of  their  person,  and  the  saving  of  their  souls,  by  their 
Infant  Lord  and  Elder  Brother? 

If  the  heathen,  who  are  "without  the  knowledge  of  the  law, 
shall  be  judged  without  the  law,"  or  on  principles  diiferent 
from  those  applied  to  such  as  "enjoy  the  law;"  surely  infants, 
who  die  previous  to  their  possible  knowledge  of  the  gospel, 
shall  not  have  its  application  to  them  measured  by  the  rules  of 
personal  accountability?  Having  never  "sinned  after  the 
similitude  of  Adam's  transgression,"  they  will  not  be  saved 
after  the  similitude  of  those  of  Adam's  full  grown  posterity, 
who  have  thus  sinned.  All  objections  to  this  conclusion  aris- 
ing from  the  incapacity  of  infants  for  salvation,  are  entirely 
presumptuous,  since  Christ  has  assured  us  that  "of  such,"  even 
infants  in  the  arms,  "is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Now,  as 
God  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  and  as  all  children  are  His 
moral  ofi;spring,  and  all  are  equally  guilty ;  and  equally  incapa- 
ble, by  any  possibility,  of  securing  deliverance  from  sin ;  we 
must  conclude  that  all  children,  dying  in  infancy,  are  saved 
with  an  everlasting  salvation  through  the  abounding  grace  of 
Christ  Jesus,  our  Lord. 

"It  appears,"  says  Dr.  Russell,  "that  the  original  constitution 
and  that  which  is  now  established  through  Christ,  are  thus  far 
co-extensive,  that  the  direct  penal  efifects  of  the  sin  of  Adam, 
separately  considered,  are  so  far  removed,  that  none  shall  be 
finally  condemned,  merely  for  his  one  ofifence,  or  without  hav- 
ing personally  transgressed,  and  thereby,  actually  concurred  in 
that  sin,  by  their  approval  and  imitation  of  it.  This  is  con- 
firmed by  the  consideration  that,  when  speaking  of  the  con- 
demnation even  of  such  as  are  "without  law,"  the  apostle  limits 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  187 

this  doom  to  such  as  actually  have  sinned.  He  refers  to  such 
as  have  sinned  against  light,  sufficient  to  render  them  "without 
excuse ;"  and  who,  of  course,  are  actual  transgressors  Rom. 
i.  19-32;  and  in  ii.  13.  This  declaration,  respecting  the  ground 
of  the  condemnation,  of  such  as  were  without  law,  ought  to 
be  considered  in  connexion  with  the  reasoning  in  chap,  vi., 
which  must  be  consistent  with  it  in  all  its  parts.  And  as  the 
ground  of  condemnation  now  in  question,  cannot  apply  to 
infants,  the  reasoning  respecting  it,  so  far  from  militating 
against  the  salvation  of  such,  serves  to  establish  it,  because  it 
supposes  the  abuse  of  at  least  a  measure  of  light,  and  the 
imitation  of  the  sin  of  Adam  by  actual  transgression.  If  such, 
as  is  evident,  be  the  declared  ground  of  the  condemnation  of 
adults,  and  if  not  a  word  is  said  of  any  ground  on  which  chil- 
dren dying  in  infancy  shall  be  finally  condemned,  does  it  not 
follow,  that  all  of  them  are  saved?  This  conclusion  is  com- 
pletely confirmed  by  its  full  accordance  with  the  principle,  that, 
as  the  resurrection  of  the  body  is  the  result  of  the  advent  and 
administration  of  Christ,  it  is  of  course  connected,  as  we  have 
seen,  in  the  case  of  deceased  infants,  with  deliverance  from  the 
whole  result  of  the  original  curse. 

"It  is  obviously  taught  by  the  apostle,  that  the  glory  of  the 
Avork  of  Christ  is  more  illustriously  displayed  in  overcoming 
the  accumulated  effects  of  the  many  personal  offences  of  actual 
transgressors,  than  in  simply  overcoming  those  of  the  single 
offence  of  Adam,  and  this  accounts  for  his  passing  from  the 
latter  display  of  glory  to  the  former.  He  takes  for  granted, 
the  redemption  of  those  v/ho  had  "not  sinned  after  the  simili- 
tude of  Adam's  transgression,"  when  reasoning  on  the  tran- 
scendent grandeur  of  the  plan  of  mercy,  as  embracing  the 
remission  of  "the  many  offences"  of  actual  transgressors.  On 
the  full  glory  of  the  plan,  as  thus  most  impressively  exhibited, 
he  delighted  to  dwell,  and  what  he  says  of  the  circumstances 
of  infants,  is  introduced  chiefly  for  the  sake  of  illustrating  this 
higher  manifestation  of  "the  exceeding  riches"  of  divine  grace. 
In  arguing  for  the  greater,  he  takes  for  granted,  the  less.  He 
cannot  but  be  considered  as  teaching  us,  that  the  scheme  of 
redemption  shields  from  the  penal  consequences  of  Adam's 
sin,  separately  viewed,  or  where  they  are  not  connected  with 


188  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

actual  sin  and  final  impenitence,  seeing  he  maintains  that  its 
object  extends,  not  to  this  only,  but  much  farther. 

"When  he  reasons,  that  if  the  forfeiture  was  incurred  by- 
one  offence,  we  have  much  more  reason  to  expect  that  the 
blessings  of  redemption  will  be  communicated  on  the  principle 
of  representation,  or  through  the  work  of  Christ  as  a  public 
head,  and  that  those  blessings  shall  far  exceed  the  damage  sus- 
tained by  the  fall  of  the  first  Adam,  his  reasoning  proceeds  on 
the  principle  that  God  delighteth  in  mercy,  and  is  slow  to  anger, 
and  reluctant  to  execute  judgment.  It  also  supposes  that 
justice,  in  the  infliction  of  punishment,  is  limited  to  desert, 
while  grace,  when  not  obstructed  in  its  exercise  by  the  claims 
of  offended  righteousness,  can  be  imparted  in  the  most  unlim- 
ited abundance,  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  the  divine 
will.  It  seems,  then,  necessarily  to  follow,  that,  under  the 
present  dispensation,  no  exclusion  occurs,  where  nothing  addi- 
tional to  the  sin  of  Adam  has  taken  place,  since  all  obstructions 
in  the  way  of  the  honourable  exercise  of  mercy,  and  grace, 
have  been  completely  removed,  by  the  infinitely  precious  sacri- 
fice of  Christ.  This  conclusion  is  but  the  natural  result  of  the 
foregoing  premises,  and  it,  of  course,  involves  the  salvation  of 
all  who  have  not  been  guilty  of  actual  transgression. 

"It  may  here  be  farther  remarked,  that  the  concern  of 
infants,  in  the  sin  of  Adam,  is  of  a  relative  nature,  and,  there- 
fore, cannot  be  divided  among  them,  so  as  that  one  may  have 
this  share  of  it,  and  another  that ;  as  in  the  case,  when  a  num- 
ber have  shared  in  the  doing  of  a  thing  for  the  whole  of  rela- 
tive blame  must  attach  to  every  individual  of  the  parties  con- 
cerned in  it.  Now  it  will  be  granted,  that  the  guilt  of  this  sin 
was  expiated  by  Christ :  for,  otherwise,  Adam  could  never  have 
been  saved,  and  not  a  single  infant  could  have  been  delivered 
from  its  effects  on  his  posterity ;  so  that,  according  to  this  prin- 
ciple, the  universal  perdition  of  infants  must  be  maintained; 
a  thing  which,  none  will  admit  as  possible." 

It  is  true,  infants  are  by  nature  as  depraved  as  those  of  riper 
years,  though  not  as  actually  guilty ;  but  it  is  also  true,  that  the 
spirit  of  God  can  as  easily  and  as  effectually  wash  and  sanctify 
and  justify  them;  and  since  He  does  assuredly  prepare  many 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  189 

infants  for  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  He  can  as  easily  pre- 
pare all. 

"Respecting  the  time  when  God  may  be  pleased  to  change 
their  hearts  by  His  Spirit,"  says  Dr.  Russell,  "whether  before 
or  at  the  time  of  their  dissolution,  it  does  not  seem  to  be  of 
great  importance  to  inquire.  He  who  imparted  His  moral 
likeness  to  Adam,  immediately  at  his  creation,  and  gave  His 
Holy  Spirit  to  John,  while  in  his  mother's  womb,  ought  not  to 
be  limited.  If  the  first  Adam  had  continued  obedient,  would  not 
his  children  have  been  born  in  a  state  of  holiness,  or  with  a 
principle  predisposing  to  holy  exercise,  as  soon  as  the  faculties 
of  the  mind  were  so  developed  as  to  fit  for  moral  agency? 
And  if  so,  why  may  not  the  Spirit  of  God  so  influence  the  heart 
of  a  child,  as  to  produce  a  similar  predisposition  there?  If,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  germ  of  sin  be  in  infants  from  the  beginning, 
though  not  developed  in  actual  transgressions,  why  may  not 
the  germ  of  holiness  be  implanted  by  the  Divine  Spirit  on 
earth,  though  its  developments  in  the  case  of  infants  can  be 
witnessed  only  in  heaven?  The  most  eminent  of  our  older 
evangelical  writers  distinguish  between  the  principle  and  the 
exercise  of  grace,  and  maintain  that  the  form  may  exist  in  chil- 
dren while  as  yet  incapable  of  the  latter.*  We  cannot  say 
what  may  be  the  mode  of  the  Divine  operations,  in  regard  to 
such,  and  no  practical  benefit  could  we  derive  from  the  knowl- 
edge of  it.  The  Almighty  can  doubtless  instantaneously  raise 
from  infantile  weakness  and  ignorance,  to  the  perfection  of 
heavenly  light  and  holy  purity.  This  will  afford  a  display  of 
the  Divine  power,  which  will  be  deeply  impressive.  Christians 
who  have  long  known  the  truth  upon  earth,  though  through  a 
glass  darkly,  understand  something  of  the  celestial  glory, 
before  they  enter  on  it,  but  what  must  be  the  feelings  of 
infants,  on  being  suddenly  translated  to  the  full  radiance  of 
the  heavenly  inheritance,  and  what  the  feelings  of  others  on 
witnessing  this  striking  display  of  Almighty  power? 

"What  prevents  the  full  renovation  of  Christians  on  earth, 
but  the  weakness  and  unsettledness  of  their  faith  in  the  gospel, 
and  will  not  the  full  blaze  of  its  lustre  at  once  assimilate  the 
whole  soul  to  itself?     'The  germ  of  life  and  of  glory,'  which 

*Owen  on  the  Spirit,  vol.  ii.  253,  413. 


190  SOLACE  r'OR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

was  here  implanted  in  the  infant  mind,  will  burst  forth  instan- 
taneously into  a  full  and  vigorous  life,  and  the  heart  will  be 
impressed  with  the  beauty  and  grandeur  of  the  character  of 
God,  and  capacitated  for  the  services  and  the  bliss  of  the  celes- 
tial sanctuary. 

"And  when  we  remember,  how  God  taught  the  children  of 
Jerusalem,  to  offer  up  their  artless  hosannas  in  the  temple,  how 
their  praises  were  accepted  of  the  Saviour,  and  how  they  seem 
to  have  relieved  and  gladdened  the  mind  of  the  Man  of  sor- 
rows, as  He  thought  of  the  obstinate  unbelief,  and  impending 
fate  of  that  city  over  which  He  mournfully  wept,  we  cannot 
but  recommend  them  to  God,  in  the  confidence  that  His  power 
and  His  goodness  are  always  the  same.  Knowing,  as  we  do, 
that  our  Lord  was  much  attached  to  children  when  He  was  on 
earth,  and  seeing  such  immense  numbers  of  them  cut  off  by 
death ;  are  not  we  warranted  to  say  that  He  is  now  by  His 
providence,  repeating  from  heaven  what  He  said  when  in  our 
world,  'Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  for  of  such  is 
the  kingdom  of  God.' 

"The  expression,  'Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God,'  means, 
then,  that  'of  such  it  is  in  a  great  measure  made  up,'  because 
they  will  form  a  very  great  proportion  of  the  redeemed  family 
of  Heaven.  The  Saviour  appears  to  have  had  the  universal 
salvation  of  all  of  them  who  die  in  infancy  in  His  view.  His 
reasoning  is  not,  'of  persons  resembling  such  in  temper  and 
disposition  is  the  kingdom  made  up,  for  this,  as  has  already 
been  hinted,  would  not  warrant  the  conclusion  drawn,  namely, 
that  children  ought  not  to  be  hindered  from  being  brought  to 
Him,  in  order  to  be  blessed,  for  on  the  same  principle  He  might 
have  said,  'Suffer  doves  and  lambs  to  be  brought  unto  me  to  be 
blessed,  for  of  persons  resembling  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God 
made  up.'  Now,  this  would  prove  too  much;  consequently  it 
proves  nothing.  His  words,  then,  must  respect  children  lit- 
erally ;  and  His  blessing  such  ensures  their  salvation.  It  is  to 
no  purpose  to  deny  this  conclusion  by  saying,  that  though  our 
Lord  wept  over  Jerusalem,  yet,  Jerusalem  fell,  for  there  is  a 
wide  and  an  essential  difference  between  a  lamentation  over 
the  obstinancy  of  active  rebels,  and  a  benediction  poured  upon 
infants,  between  a  warning  of  impending  danger,  and  an  assur- 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  191 

ance,  that  'of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  Heaven.'  Nor  can  the 
words  be  construed  to  respect  only  the  particular  children  then 
brought  to  Him,  or  any  particular  class  of  children  exclusively, 
for  the  expression,  'of  such,'  is  comprehensive  of  all  who  never 
get  beyond  the  condition  of  infancy." 

It  is  also  true  that  infants  are  as  helplessly  impotent  to  good 
as  are  adults ;  but  they  are  not  more  so,  and  spiritual  good 
cometh  not  by  human  might,  nor  human  power,  but  by  the 
spirit  of  God.  True,  they  are  equally,  with  grown  persons, 
ignorant  of  God  and  holiness ;  but  they  are  also  as  susceptible 
of  heavenly  guidance :  and  after  all,  the  difference  between  the 
most  perfect,  and  the  lowest,  attainments  in  human  knowledge, 
and  those  which  are  acquired  in  heaven,  is  insignificantly  small. 
It  is  true,  also,  that  infants  are  as  capable  of  progressive 
improvement,  and  as  susceptible  of  happiness,  as  those  of  the 
most  giant  powers ;  and  a  brief  schooling  under  the  teachings 
of  the  upper  sanctuary,  will,  therefore,  put  them  far  in  advance 
of  the  most  exalted  earthly  genius. 

When,  in  addition  to  what  has  been  now  advanced,  we 
remember  the  peculiar  interest  which  God  has  ever  manifested 
in  infants ;— when  we  remember  how  He  has  distinctly  called 
them  His  "innocents,"  His  "poor  innocents,"  and  has  thus,  it 
would  appear,  declared  that,  under  His  present  dispensation, 
they  are  held  no  longer,  as  such,  (that  is,  when  their  period  of 
probation  closes  in  infancy,)  accountable  for  their  guilt  in 
Adam; — when  we  remember,  in  the  manifestation  which  God 
made  of  Himself  in  the  flesh,  how  marvellously  He  was  drawn 
out  in  His  afifectionate  regard  to  infants,  and  how  emphatically 
He  declared  them  to  be  be  a  great  component  part  of  the  king- 
dom of  heaven ; — when  we  remember,  that  it  is  out  of  their 
mouths,  God  is  to  perfect  His  praise ;  that  their  hosannas  will 
be  sweetest  in  the  loud  song  of  heavenly  praise ;  and  their 
angels  be  nearest  to  the  bright  vision  of  the  face  of  unveiled 
Deity ; — and  when,  in  the  actual  demonstration  of  the  purposes 
of  God,  we  find  Him  carrying  home  to  His  bosom,  while  in 
this  state  of  happy  innocency,  one-half  of  His  human  family ; — 
are  we  not,  beyond  all  controversy,  assured  that  the  infant 
dead  are  ransomed  from  all  the  pains  and  perils  of  this  mortal 
strife,  that  they  may  be  at  once  admitted  to  that  kingdom  "pre- 


192  SOI^ACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

pared"  for  them,  and  for  all  the  elect  family  of  heaven,  "from 
the  foundation  of  the  world." 

Calm  on  the  bosom  of  thy  God, 

Young  spirits  !  rest  thee  now  ! 
Even  while  with  us  thy  footsteps  trod, 

His  seal  was  on  thy  brow. 

In  the  eighth  Psalm  we  have  an  express  scriptural  proof  of 
the  salvation  of  infants,  and  an  unequivocal  intimation  that 
amid  the  multitudes  that  grace  the  triumphs  of  the  Son  of  God, 
infants  will  not  be  wanting — "O  Lord  our  Lord,  how  excellent 
is  thy  name  in  all  the  earth !  who  hast  set  thy  glory  above  the 
heavens.  Out  of  the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings  hast  thou 
ordained  strength,  because  of  thine  enemies,  that  thou  mightest 
still  the  enemy  and  the  avenger."  Now  the  apostle  Paul,  in 
reasoning  upon  this  very  Psalm  in  his  epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
quotes  it  as  descriptive  of  Christ  in  the  days  of  His  final 
triumph.  It  is  in  the  second  chapter.  "But  one  in  a  certain 
place  testified,  saying,  What  is  man,  that  thou  art  mindful  of 
him?  or  the  son  of  man,  that  thou  visitest  him?  Thou  madest 
him  a  little  lower  than  the  angels;  thou  crownedst  him  with 
glory  and  honour,  and  didst  set  him  over  the  works  of  thy 
hands;  thou  hast  put  all  things  in  subjection  under  his  feet. 
For  in  that  He  put  all  in  subjection  under  him.  He  left  nothing 
that  is  not  put  under  him.  But  now  we  see  not  yet  all  things 
put  under  him.  But  we  see  Jesus,  who  was  made  a  little  lower 
than  the  angels  for  the, suffering  of  death,  crowned  with  glory 
and  honour;  that  He  by  the  grace  of  God  should  taste  death 
for  every  man." — The  sacred  penman  states  that  the  Psalm 
refers  to  that  period  when  Christ  shall  reign  from  sea  to  sea — 
all  rebellious  elements  being  laid  prostrate,  and  creation  clothed 
afresh  with  holiness,  and  beauty,  and  bliss.  Amid  the  anthem- 
peal  of  praise  that  rises  up  to  Him  from  the  redeemed  earth, 
the  psalmist  hears  the  songs  of  infants  as  no  weak  tone  in  the 
rich  diapason,  as  ascriptions  to  the  Lamb  "out  of  the  mouth 
of  babes  and  sucklings."  Yes,  the  beautiful  truth  stands  forth 
in  all  its  lustre,  deep  and  consolatory,  that  the  sweetest  hymns 
which  shall  be  heard  in  the  millennial  era,  will  be  infant 
hymns;  that  amid  the  songs  that  rise  before  the  throne,  will 
be  melodies  that  are  warbled  by  infant  orphans'  tongues,  and 


SOI.ACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  193 

that  gush  forth  from  full  infant  hearts.  The  unspeakably 
precious  truth  comes  home  from  this  to  every  parent,  that,  if 
a  saint  of  God,  he  shall  join  in  the  songs  of  heaven  with  his 
departed  infants,  who  have  already  caught  the  key-note. 

In  the  twentieth  chapter  of  the  Apocalypse  we  have  an  out- 
line of  the  proceedings  of  the  judgment  day,  which  bears  some- 
what on  this  topic :  "I  saw  the  dead,  small  and  great,  stand 
before  God;  and  the  books  (the  plural  number)  were  opened." 
There  are  two  books  symbolically  referred  to  in  Scripture :  the 
book  in  which  are  the  names  and  deeds  of  the  unbelieving,  and 
the  book  in  which  are  the  names  and  deeds  of  the  children  of 
God.  Now  after  these  two  books  were  opened,  we  read — 
"And  another  book  was  opened,  which  is  the  book  of  life." 
¥/e  connect  this  with  the  eleventh  of  Revelation — "And  the 
nations  were  angry,  and  thy  wrath  is  come,  and  the  time  of  the 
dead  that  they  should  be  judged,  and  that  thou  shouldst  give 
reward  unto  thy  servants  the  prophets,  and  unto  the  saints  and 
them  that  fear  thy  name,  small  and  great."  At  the  production 
of  these  three  books,  infants  are  present,  and  therefore  we 
may  presume  that  the  two  books  contain  the  deeds  of  the  evil, 
and  the  deeds  of  the  good ;  but  that  the  third  book,  which  is 
"the  Lamb's  book  of  life,"  is  that  in  which  the  names  of  the 
lambs  of  the  flock  are  written,  and  which  I  believe  is  the 
memorial  and  record  of  those  who  barely  lived  before  they 
died,  who  scarcely  breathed  the  air  of  time  before  they  were 
transferred  to  breathe  the  sweeter  and  the  balmier  atmosphere 
of  eternity. 

We  cannot  conceive  what  other  record  that  can  be  which  is 
the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life.  On  its  tablets  the  names  of  our 
infants  now  in  glory  are  inscribed.  Theirs  is  a  peculiar  case, 
and  theirs,  therefore,  a  specific  but  glorious  record.  Each 
name  is  illuminated  with  everlasting  splendour,  while  each  pos- 
sessor is  bathed  in  that  flood  which  is  "fulness  of  joy  for  ever- 
more." 

On  no  other  ground,  we  may  also  observe,  than  on  that  of 
the  universal  safety  of  deceased  infants,  can  we  account  for 
the  vast  multitudes  declared  to  be  ultimately  saved.  The 
various  expressions  used  in  Scripture  respecting  the  final  salva- 
tion of  men,  unquestionably  imply  that  a  very  great  number 

13— Vol.  X. 


194  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

will  be  eternally  saved.  "After  this  I  beheld,  and  lo,  a  great 
MULTITUDE,  which  no  man  could  number,  of  all  nations,,  and 
kindreds,  and  people,  and  tongues,  stood  before  the  throne, 
and  before  the  Lamb,  clothed  with  white  robes,  and  palms  in 
their  hands;  and  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  Salvation  to 
our  God  which  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb." 
"A  GREAT  MULTITUDE  which  no  man  can  number"  is  the  char- 
acteristic of  the  finally  saved ;  showing  that  it  is  not  a  minority, 
but  a  majority  that  shall  ultimately  be  admitted  to  glory. 
Christ,  in  numbers,  as  in  glory,  shall  have  the  pre-eminence. 
In  the  nineteenth  of  Revelation,  again,  we  read,  "And  I  heard 
as  it  were  the  voice  of  a  great  multitude,  and  as  the  voice  of 
many  waters :"  another  expression  denoting  the  vast  number 
of  the  saved.  Again :  Christ  is  to  "bring  many  sons  unto 
glory."  And  again :  "Christ  was  once  offered,  to  bear  the  sins 
of  many."  And  again :  "As  by  one  man's  disobedience  many 
were  made  sinners,  so  by  the  obedience  of  one  shall  many  be 
made  righteous." 

This  is  a  sweet  and  majestic  thought.  The  great  multitude 
will  not  be  lost.  The  prospect  dilates  the  heart  of  philan- 
thropy, and  comes  home  to  us  clothed  with  the  attributes  and 
glories  of  God.  They  wrong  our  faith  who  call  it  narrow. 
They  wrong  its  fountain  also.  The  myriads  shall  mount  to 
glory.  Minorities  only  will  sink  to  hell,  and  this  is  not  because 
there  is  not  room  or  welcome  in  heaven. 

There  are  other  passages  which  expressly  assert  the  safety 
of  dead  infants.  There  is  one  passage  descriptive  of  David's 
feelings  on  the  loss  of  his  infant,  which,  with  its  context,  we 
quote.  "And  the  Lord  struck  the  child  that  Uriah's  wife  bare 
unto  David,  and  it  was  very  sick.  David,  therefore,  besought 
God  for  the  child,  and  David  fasted,  and  went  in  and  lay  all 
night  upon  the  earth.  And  the  elders  of  his  house  arose,  and 
went  to  him,  to  raise  him  up  from  the  earth,  but  he  would  not, 
neither  did  he  eat  bread  with  them.  And  it  came  to  pass  on 
the  seventh  day  that  the  child  died.  And  the  servants  of 
David  feared  to  tell  him  that  the  child  was  dead,  for  they  said. 
Behold,  while  the  child  was  yet  alive,  we  spake  unto  him,  and 
he  would  not  hearken  unto  our  voice,  how  will  he  then  vex 
himself,  if  we  tell  him  that  the  child  is  dead.     But  when  David 


SOI.ACLC  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  195 

saw  that  his  servants  whispered,  David  perceived  that  the  child 
was  dead :  therefore  David  said  unto  his  servants,  Is  the  child 
dead?  And  they  said,  He  is  dead.  Then  David  arose  from 
the  earth,  and  washed  and  anointed  himself,  and  changed  his 
apparel,  and  came  into  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and  worshipped : 
then  he  came  to  his  own  house,  and  when  he  required,  they 
set  bread  before  him,  and  he  did  eat.  Then  said  his  servants 
unto  him.  What  thing  is  this  that  thou  hast  done?  thou  didst 
fast  and  weep  for  the  child  while  it  was  alive,  but  when  the 
child  was  dead,  thou  didst  rise  and  eat  bread.  And  he  said, 
While  the  child  was  yet  alive,  I  fasted  and  wept:  for  I  said. 
Who  can  tell  whether  God  will  be  gracious  to  me,  that  the 
child  may  live  ?  But  now  he  is  dead,  wherefore  should  I  fast  ? 
can  I  bring  him  back  again?  I  shall  go  to  him,  but  he 
SHALL  NOT  RETURN  TO  ME." — 3  Sam.  xii.  15-23. 

If  ever  there  was  a  case  where  the  infant  might  be  expected 
to  suffer  hereafter  for  the  father's  sin,  it  was  that  of  David 
in  this  passage.  Yet  David's  conviction  of  his  own  sin, 
expressed  so  poignantly  in  the  fifty-first  Psalm,  and  anxiety 
about  his  own  spiritual  safety,  did  not  cloud  his  assurance  of 
the  safety  of  this  babe.  He  hoped  to  meet  him  in  that  purer 
and  better  land  whither  he  had  gone  before  him. 

It  has  been  objected  that  the  number  of  the  saved  is  repre- 
sented in  scripture  always  as  small,  in  comparison  with  the 
number  of  the  lost.  For  instance :  "Many  are  called,  but  few- 
are  chosen,"  and,  therefore,  that  so  great  a  proportion  of  the 
human  race  should  be  eventually  saved  is  extremely  improb- 
able. The  text  referred  to  is  applicable  exclusively  to  adults, 
and  by  no  possible  stretch  of  language  to  infants.  Infants 
cannot  be  "called,"  because  they  are  incapable  of  listening  or 
yielding  obedience  to  a  call,  and  therefore  of  rejecting  it. 
Adults  only  are  capable  of  this.  They  alone  are  the  "called," 
and  of  them,  it  is  true,  the  few  are  chosen.  It  is  a  truth  as 
painful  to  the  heart  as  it  is  palpable  to  the  eye,  that  of  adults 
the  great  majority  live  far  from  God,  "strangers  to  the  cove- 
nant of  promise."  If  we  quote  London,  for  instance,  the 
metropolis  of  the  world,  we  find  that  perhaps  600,000,  or  prob- 
ably nearer  a  million,  out  of  its  two  millions,  never  enter  a 
place  of  worship,  how  few  are  there,  whose  hearts  are  really 


196  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

savingly  touched,  whose  souls  are  truly  renev^ed,  who  have  felt 
the  Gospel  not  merely  in  its  letter,  but  in  its  power, — not  only 
as  a  word,  but  as  the  wisdom  and  power  of  God !  This  we  do 
not  deny ;  but  we  are  not  to  forget,  that,  whilst  scripture  repre- 
sents the  number  of  adults  that  now  reject  the  Gospel  as  still 
many,  the  same  scripture  represents  the  sum  total  of  the  saved 
by  the  Gospel,  at  the  winding  up  of  its  solemn  dispensation,  as 
very  numerous.  Its  language  is  that  of  "a  multitude  no  man 
can  number."  It  was  promised,  that  Abraham's  seed  (that  is, 
Christians,)  should  be  "like  the  stars  of  heaven  for  multi- 
tude;"— that  they  should  be  upon  the  earth  as  the  dew-drops 
of  the  morning;  that  they  should  be  like  the  sands  upon  the 
sea-shore.  And,  therefore,  while  it  seems  true  that  a  majority 
of  adults  are  lost  in  the  present  day,  and  under  the  present  dis- 
pensation, it  is  still  not  true  (and  this  is  a  delightful  fact)  that 
the  majority  of  the  human  race  as  a  whole  will  be  ultimately 
lost.  If  half  the  human  race  die  in  infancy,  and  if  infants 
are  universally  saved,  then  the  glorious  result  evolves,  amid 
feelings  of  joy  and  holy  gratitude  to  every  heart,  that  the  great 
majority  of  the  human  race  shall  be  saved;  and  that  instead 
of  a  small  number  only  eventually  reaching  glory,  "a  great 
multitude,  whom  no  man  can  number,"  shall  stand  before  the 
throne  with  palms  in  their  hands,  kings  and  conquerors  and 
priests,  through  Him  that  loved  them  and  washed  them  in  His 
blood,  and  redeemed  them  out  of  every  kindred  and  people 
and  tongue. 

We  purposely  abstain  from  even  mentioning  many  other 
objections.  A  fertile  fancy  and  a  repugnance  to  a  truth  may 
invent  innumerable  objections.  Abuses,  also,  may  be  appended 
to  it,  but  for  these  it  is  not  answerable.  Use  is  God's  destiny 
of  things;  abuse  is  the  perversion  of  man.  Heaven's  best 
blessings  have  been  perverted.  Evil  men  can  turn  any  mercy 
into  means  of  evil.  It  is  one  of  the  effects  of  sin,  that  man 
has  in  every  instance  the  secret  of  that  awful  chemistry  which 
can  transmute  a  blessing  into  a  bane,  and  distil  deadly  poison 
from  precious  truths.  The  tarantula  spider  extracts  poison 
from  the  most  delicious  blossoms.  So  man  can  extract  poison 
from  the  fruits  of  the  tree  of  life,  and  death  from  the  very 
leaves  which  are  for  the  healing  of  the  nations  of  the  earth. 


soIvACl:  for  bereaved  parents.  197 

But,  to  object  to  a  doctrine  because  it  may  be  abused,  or  to 
reject  it  because  it  may  be  perverted,  is  just  to  imitate  the  man 
who  would  cut  down  a  beautiful  fruit-tree,  because  caterpillars 
find  food  from  its  leaves,  and  spiders  weave  their  webs  amid 
its  branches.  We  must  test  conclusions  by  "the  law  and  the 
testimony,"  and  not  by  the  fancied  abuses  to  which  they  may 
be  open. 

How  consoling  are  the  views  which  this  subject  presents  to 
those  parents  who  are  bereaved  of  their  children !  Theirs  is 
privilege  as  well  as  pain.  Of  the  destiny  of  their  little  ones 
who  have  preceded  them  we  have  no  manner  of  doubt.  It  has 
not  been  thus  with  all  Christian  parents :  Job  saw  his  sons  and 
his  daughters  in  the  meridian  of  age  laid  prostrate  before  him. 
Aaron  beheld  his  two  sons  struck  down  by  the  bolt  of  heaven, 
in  the  midst  of  their  rebellion  against  God.  How  small  in 
comparison  can  be  the  trial  to  the  Christian  parent,  to  behold 
an  infant  die,  because  he  knows  that  that  infant  has  been 
redeemed  not  only  from  original  sin,  but  preserved,  in  addi- 
tion, through  the  rich  mercy  of  God,  from  seventy  years  of 
weary  pilgrimage.  It  has  gained  the  crown  without  the  tur- 
moil— reached  the  goal  without  running  the  course ;  its 
harvest  has  been  heaped  upon  its  seed-time ;  it  has  reaped  with- 
out sowing.  Its  is  a  distinguishing  privilege,  and  surely  no 
Christian  parent  would  wish  an  infant  back  again  to  earth. 
Could  you  say,  let  me  ask  of  every  parent  that  has  lost  an 
infant — could  you  say  to  your  infant,  if  it  were  to  come  back, 
Weep  no  more,  my  child?  Could  you  dry  all  the  tears  from 
its  eye,  so  that  it  should  mourn  no  more?  W^hat  could  you 
promise  it  ?  Seventy  years  of  sore  pilgrimage  at  the  very  best, 
in  a  world  where  men  must  become  almost  martyrs  to  get  their 
daily  bread :  where  all  is  hollow,  deceptive,  unreal,  and  where 
every  moment  as  it  speeds  tells  us  that  the  great  ocean-stream 
of  eternity  is  rushing  onwards,  and  carrying  millions  unpre- 
pared to  the  judgment-seat  of  God.  Better  is  the  child  in  its 
Father's  home.  We  do  not  wish  to  recall  it.  The  tears  of 
nature  are  wiped  away  by  the  hand  of  grace.  We  do  not 
sorrow  because  our  infants  are  removed.  We  rejoice.  "The 
Lord  gave  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away.  Blessed  be  His 
name,  and  blessed  are  the  dead  that  die  in  Him,  for  they  rest 


198  solace;  for  bereaved  parents. 

from  their  labours."  They  go  from  a  life  of  martyrdom  to  a 
life  of  millennial  blessedness ;  and  if  an  infant  tongue  in  heaven 
could  be  audible  on  earth,  that  infant's  tongue  would  say — 
Weep  not  for  me;  "if  ye  loved  me,  ye  would  rejoice,  because 
I  am  gone  unto  my  Father." 

A  mother  of  New  York  came  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Guinness,  as 
an  anxious  inquirer  after  the  way  of  life.  He  asked  her  what 
made  the  first  impression  upon  her  mind,  when  she  related  the 
following  affecting  story: 

Her  little  girl  of  only  five  years  was  dying.  The  mother 
was  weeping  with  the  little  one  folded  to  her  heart.  She 
looked  upward,  and  fixing  her  gaze  right  on  that  dear  mother's 
eye,  said  with  the  lisping  simplicity  of  her  little  heart, 
"Mamma,  don't  cry  for  me.  he  going  to  heaven^  And  then 
the  little  darling,  pausing  for  a  moment,  and  refixing  her  eye 
upon  the  dear  face,  said,  "Mamma,  will  you  go  wis  mc  there?" 
O,  what  an  appeal !     What  mother's  heart  would  it  not  touch? 

Well,  rest  thee,  bright  one  ;  we  may  not  deplore  thee  ; 

Death  hath  no  terrors  for  such  as  thou. 
From  ills  to  come,  from  anguished  years — ah  !  freely 

We  yield  thee  to  thy  God  who  calleth  now. 

We  would  not  that  bright  brow  were  marked  with  furrows, 
Which  Time's  dread  finger  sure  had  graven  there  ; 

We  would  not  that  pure  lip  had  writhed  with  sorrows. 
Which  all  earth's  tenants  soon  or  late  must  share. 

Ay,  rest  thee !  yet  thy  mother's  heart  is  bleeding. 
To  think  that  form  so  chill  and  pulseless  now  ; 

That  rich  dark  eye  its  purple  lid  is  veiling. 
And  the  bright  curls  are  still  upon  thy  brow. 

Oft  has  she  gazed  on  thee  in  thy  proud  beauty. 

Buoyant  and  gladsome  in  thy  childish  glee. 
But  ne'er  before  that  face  was  deemed  so  lovely, 

As  in  its  death-sleep  it  hath  seemed  to  be. 

And  yet  rest  on  : — the  balmy  winds  are  breathing 

A  fragrant  requiem  o'er  thy  peaceful  bed. 
And  summer  flowers,  thy  humble  tombstone  wreathing. 

Their  hallowed  incense  o'er  thy  slumbers  shed. 

From  the  far  heaven  the  angel-stars  are  beaming 

In  holy  beauty  on  thy  lowly  rest. 
And  clustering  ivy-leaves  are  richly  streaming 

With  graceful  tendrils  o'er  the  sleeper's  breast. 

Sleep  on — sleep  on  !     Ah,  it  were  vain  deploring, 
For  thou  art  gone  where  dwelleth  nought  of  woe  ; 

In  that  bright  realm  thy  pure  young  soul  is  soaring, 
All  scenes  of  sorrow  fading  far  below. 

Then  fare  thee  well  ; — no  more  thy  mother's  bosom 
Shall  lull  those  blue-veined  eyelids  to  their  sleep  ; 

Dust  unto  dust! — we  may  not  slight  the  summons — 
We  give  thee  back  to  earth — but  we  must  weep. 


SOI^ACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  199 


Straight  and   still  the  baby   lies, 
No  more  smiling  in  his  eyes. 
Neither  tears  nor  wailing  cries. 

Smiles  and  tears  alike  are  done  : 
He  has  need  of  neither  one — 
Only  I  must  weep  alone. 

Tiny  fingers,  all  too  slight, 
Hold  within  their  grasping  tight, 
Waxen  berries  scarce  more  white. 

Nights  and  days  of  weary  pain, 
I  have  held  them  close — in  vain  ; 
Now  I  never  shall  again. 

Crossed  upon  a  silent  breast. 
By  no  suffering  distressed, 
Here  they  lie  in  marble  rest. 

They  shall  ne'er  unfolded  be, 
Never  more  in  agony 
Cling  so  pleadingly  to  me. 

Never!  O,  the  hopeless  sound 
To  my  heart,  so  closely  wound 
All  his  little  being  round ! 

I   forget  the  shining  crown. 

Glad  exchange  for  cross  laid  down, 

Now  his  baby  brows  upon. 

Yearning  sore,  I  only  know 
I  am  very  full  of  woe — 
And  1  want  my  baby  so ! 

Selfish  heart,  that  thou  shouldst  prove 
So  unworthy  of  the  love 
Which  thine  idol  doth  remove ! 

Blinded  eyes,  that  cannot  see. 

Past  the  present  misery, 

Joy  and  comfort  full  and  free ! 

0  !  my  Father,  loving  Lord  ! 

1  am  ashamed  at  my  own  word ; 
Strength  and  patience  me  afford. 

I  will  yield  me  to  Thy  will ; 
Now  Thy  purposes  fulfil ; 
Only  help  me  to  be  still. 

Though  my  mother-heart  shall  ache, 
I  believe  that,  for  Thy  sake. 
It  shall  not  entirely  break. 

And  I  know  I  yet  shall  own. 
For  my  seeds  of  sorrow  sown. 
Sheaves  of  joy  around  Thy  throne! 


CHAPTER  V. 

Children  Are  Taken  Away  in  Infancy  for  the  Benefit 
OF  THE  Living. 

The  cup  of  life  just  to  her  lips  she  prest, 
Found  the  taste  bitter,  and  declined  the  rest : 
Averse,  then  turning  from  the  face  of  day, 
She  softly  sighed  her  infant  soul  away. 

Epitaph  on  an  Infant. 

"But  for  myself  I  bless  God  I  have  observed  and  felt  so  much  mercy 
in  this  angry  dispensation  of  God,  that  I  am  almost  transported ;  I  am 
sure  highly  pleased  with  thinking  how  infinitely  sweet  His  mercies  are, 
when  His  judgments  are  so  gracious." — Jeremy  Taylor  on  the  loss  of  two 
ciiildren. 

Attention  has  been  called  to  several  passages  of  Scripture, 
and  to  the  subject  of  infant  salvation,  which  they  bring  to 
view.  In  considering  them,  I  have  endeavoured  to  give  full 
force  to  that  mystery  which  naturally  surrounds  this  subject, 
and  to  that  grief  which  the  death  of  infants  awakens  in  the 
hearts  of  those  who  are  called  to  witness  it,  and  to  endure  the 
bitterness  of  consequent  separation.  But  with  the  light  of 
revelation  we  have  adventured  into  the  depth  of  this  mournful 
subject,  and  there  found,  I  trust,  inscribed  upon  it  words  of 
peace  and  comfort — nay,  even  joy.  Instead  of  mystery,  there 
is  around  it  bright  evidence  of  wisdom  and  goodness :  instead 
of  cruelty,  there  is  found  mercy ;  and  thus,  instead  of  v.ith- 
drawing  our  affections  from  Him  who  is  the  arbiter  of  our 
destiny,  and  of  the  destiny  of  our  children,  it  draws  them 
towards  Him  with  still  stronger  power.  The  removal  of 
infants  while  in  a  state  of  infancy  is  in  mercy  to  them.  In 
mercy,  if  it  is  considered  as  affecting  them  temporally ;  in 
delivering  them  from  all  the  evils  of  this  evil  world,  and  that 
before  they  are  capable  of  apprehending  future  suffering,  or 
lamenting  over  the  loss  of  future  and  anticipated  good.  And 
in  merc}^  considering  it  as  it  affects  them  eternally ; — in  at  once 
redeeming  them  from  our  sad  inheritance  of  guilt  and 
depravity ; — freeing  them  from  the  curse  of  the  fall ; — rescuing 
them  from  the  power  of  sin  and  Satan ; — admitting  them  to 
the  privileges  of  the  sons  of  God,  and  introducing  them  to  the 
glorious  liberty,  and  the  blissful  occupations,  of  the  bright 
world  on  high. 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  201 

One-half  the  human  race  are  thus  early  cut  off  from  the 
future  struggles  of  this  toilsome  life,  through  the  mercy  of 
our  God,  having  an  abundant  entrance  administered  unto  them 
through  the  imputed  merits  of  the  Saviour's  righteousness,  and 
in  virtue  of  His  atonement,  into  the  everlasting  kingdom  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  being  washed,  sanctified, 
justified,  and  completely  redeemed.  Having  clean  escaped  the 
corruptions  that  are  in  this  world  through  lust,  they  are  made 
partakers  of  the  divine  nature,  admitted  to  the  divine  presence, 
exalted  to  be  ministering  spirits,  kings  and  priests  unto  God. 
Happy  spirits !  who  have  passed  through  this  vale  of  tears,  ere 
the  fountain  of  tears  had  been  unsealed; — who  have  journeyed 
through  this  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  while  the  gleam  of 
the  morning's  sunshine  irradiated  it  with  joyful  hope;  who 
encountered  the  last  enemy  of  sinful  man  while  disarmed  of 
his  sting,  and  disrobed  of  his  terrors ; — and  whose  whole 
eternity  of  happiness  will  have  been  unbroken  by  the  sorrows, 
the  pains,  and  the  remorseful  agonies  which  fall  in  such 
showers  of  misery,  upon  those  who  linger  through  life's  sad 
vicissitudes. 

"Happy,  thrice  happy  were  they  thus  to  die. 
Rather  than   grow   into  such  men   and   women, 
— Such  fiends  incarnate  as  that  felon-sire, 
Who  dug  its  grave  before  his  child  was  born  ; 
Such   miserable  wretches  as  that  mother, 
Whose  tender  mercies  were  so  deadly  cruel ! 
I   saw  their  infant's  spirit  rise  to  heaven, 
Caught  from   its  birth  up  to  the  throne  of  God  ; 
There,  thousands  and  ten  thousands,  I  beheld, 
Of  innocents  like  this,  that  died  untimely. 
By  violence  of  their  unnatural  kin. 
Or  by  the  mercy  of  that  gracious  Power, 
Who  gave  them  being,  taking  what  He  gave 
Ere  they  could  sin  or  suffer  like  their  parents. 
I  saw  them  in  white  raiment  crown'd  with  flowers. 
On  the  fair  banks  of  that  resplendent  river. 
Whose  streams  make  glad  the  city  of  our  God  ; 
— Water  of  life,  as  clear  as  crystal  swelling 
Forth  from  the  throne  itself,  and  visiting 
Fields  of  a  Paradise  that  ne'er  was  lost ; 
I  mark'd  those  rescued  infants,  in  their  schools, 
By  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  taught 
The  glorious  lessons  of  Almighty  Love, 
Which  brought  them  thither  in  the  readiest  path 
From  the  world's  wilderness  of  dire  temptations 
Securing  thus  their  everlasting  weal. 

Yea.   in   the  rapture  of  that  hour,   though   songs 
Of  cherubim  to  golden  lyres  and  trumpets. 
And  the  redeem'd  upon  the  sea  of  glass. 
With  voices  like  the  sound  of  many  waters, 


202  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

Came  on  mine  ear,  whose  secret  cells  -were  open'd 

To  entertain  celestial  harmonies, 

— The  small,  sweet  accents  of  those  little  children, 

Pouring  out  all  the  gladness  of  their  souls 

In  love,  joy,  gratitude,  and  praises  to   Him, 

— Him,  who  had  lov'd  and  wash'd  them  in  His  blood ; 

These  were  to  me  the  most  transporting  strains, 

Amidst  the  hallelujah's  of  all   Heaven — 

Though  lost  awhile  in  that  amazing  chorus 

Around  the  throne, — at  happy  intervals, 

The  shrill  hosannas  of  the  infant  choir, 

Singing  in  that  eternal  temple,  brought 

Tears  to  mine  eye.  whilst  seraphs  had  been  glad 

To  weep,  could  they  have  felt  the  sympathy 

That  melted  all  my  soul,  when  I  beheld 

How  condescending  Deity  thus  design'd, 

Out  of  the  mouths  of  babes  and  sucklings  here, 

To  perfect  His  high  praises ; — the  harp  of  heaven 

Had  lack'd  its  least  but  not  its  meanest  string. 

Had  children  not  been  taught  to  play  upon  it. 

And  sing,  from  feelings  all  their  own,  what  men 

Nor  angels  can  conceive  of  creatures,  born 

Under  the  curse,  yet  from  the  curse  redeem'd. 

And  placed  at  once  beyond  the  power  to  fall, 

— Safety  which  men  nor  angels  ever  knew, 

Till  ranks  of  these,  and  all  of  those  had  fallen."* 

Why,  then,  it  may  be  asked,  do  such  infants  live  at  all,  seeing 
they  are  thus  destined  to  press  onwards  to  eternity?  They 
live,  that  they  may  become  actually  existent  beings.  They  live, 
that  they  may  become  mortal ; — that  they  may  be  united  to  the 
human  family;  that  they  may  be  enrolled  among  the  citizens 
of  earth,  that  thus  they  may  become  heirs  to  all  the  privileges, 
and  entitled  to  all  the  blessings  provided  for  the  race  of  men. 
By  their  relation  to  the  first  Adam,  they  are  related  to  the 
second  Adam.  By  their  incorporation  with  Adam,  in  the 
covenant  of  works,  they  are  held  equally  capable  of  all  the 
benefits  of  the  covenant  of  grace.  Their  first  birth  thus  pre- 
pares them  for  their  second  birth.  Their  entrance  upon  earth 
is  the  commencement  of  their  bright  pathway  to  the  skies. 
And  being  thus  introduced  within  the  pale  of  humanity,  they 
are  called  to  the  endurance  of  suffering,  in  order  that  by 
inheriting  the  curse  of  mortality  they  may  thus  be  placed  under 
its  remedy:  in  order  that  these  present  light  afflictions  may 
work  out  for  them  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory; 
and  that  through  their  suflfering,  their  survivors  may  be 
benefited  and  improved. 

*See  Montgomery's  Pelican  Island,  canto  vii.,  where  he  describes  a 
heathen  parent  sacrificing  her  child. 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  203 

This  brings  me  to  the  brief  consideration  of  my  second  posi- 
tion, that  the  early  removal  of  infants  is  not  only  in  m.ercy  to 
them,  but  also  in  goodness  to  us.  After  the  satisfactory  estab- 
lishment of  the  first  position,  there  will  be  little  room  for  ques- 
tioning the  truth  and  certainty  of  the  second,  for  if  this  dispen- 
sation of  Providence  is  of  unquestionable  mercy,  considered 
as  affecting  infants  in  their  temporal  and  eternal  prospects, 
how^  can  we  but  conclude  that  it  is  also  kind  in  its  bearing  upon 
ourselves.  Can  our  interests  be  different  from,  or  opposed  to, 
those  of  our  children?  Can  they  be  happy,  and  we  miserable 
on  their  account?  Can  their  welfare  be  certainly  and 
immeasurably  promoted,  and  their  parents  left  any  reasonable 
ground  for  lamentation  or  regret?  No!  their  interests  are 
ours ; — their  happiness  ours ; — and  their  advancement  ours. 
"If  love  (says  Baxter)  teaches  us  to  mourn  with  them  that 
mourn,  and  to  rejoice  with  them  that  rejoice,  can  it  be  an  act 
of  rational  love  to  mourn  for  them  that  are  possessed  of  the 
highest  everlasting  joys?"  Oh,  no!  like  Legh  Richmond,  we 
may  press  the  lifeless  remains  of  our  departed  child  to  our 
bosom,  and  in  the  agony  of  grief  burst  into  tears,  but  like  him 
let  us,  as  we  struggle  with  nature's  anguish,  exclaim,  "My  child 
is  a  saint  in  glory." 

We  wish  our  children  to  be  happy.  Having  been  instru- 
mental to  their  birth,  we  are  solicitous  for  their  welfare.  Bear- 
ing our  image,  reflecting  our  every  quality,  and  living  in  our 
life,  we  feel  their  comfort  is  one  and  identical  with  our  own. 
And  are  our  children  happy  here ;  happy  while  called  to 
struggle  with  so  many  infantile  diseases,  dangers  and  acci- 
dents? Even  if  comparatively  happy  in  this  age,  when  their 
ignorance  is  their  bliss,  and  their  very  helplessness  the  source 
of  their  enjoyment; — will  they  be  always  so?  In  the  very 
region  of  storms,  can  they  escape  their  ravages? — surrounded 
by  misery,  can  they  remain  unharmed  by  its  malignant  influ- 
ence?— breathing  the  atmosphere  of  pollution,  can  they  be 
saved  from  its  corruption? — and  exposed  to  the  shipwreck  of 
their  present  character  and  the  loss  of  their  future  and  ever- 
lasting hopes,  where  is  there  security  for  their  preservation  or 
deliverance?  "There  is  a  death  worse  than  the  death  of  the 
body, — the  death  of  affection,  of  reputation,  of  conscience,  of 


204  soivACE  FOR  be;reave;d  parents. 

the  soul.  Parental  hopes  may  be  crushed  by  the  misconduct 
of  children,  more  than  by  the  closing  of  the  grave's  portals. 
They  may  live  only  to  treasure  up  wrath  against  the  day  of 
wrath,  and  bring  down  the  grey  hairs  of  pious  parents  with 
sorrow  to  the  grave." 

To-da}'  we  cut  the  fragrant  sod, 

With  trembling  hands,   asunder. 
And  lay  this  well  beloved  of  God, 

Our  dear  dead  baby,  under. 
Oh,  hearts  that  ache,  and  ache  afresh  ! 

Oh,  tears  too  blindly  raining  ! 
Our  hearts  are  weak,  yet,  being  flesh. 

Too  strong  for  our  restraining! 

Sleep,  darling,  sleep !     Cold  rains  shall  steep 

Thy  little  turf-made  dwelling ; 
Thou   wilt   not  know — so  far  below — 

What  winds  or  storms  are  swelling  ; 
And  birds  shall  sing,  in  the  warm  spring, 

And  flowers  bloom  about  thee  : 
Thou  wilt  not  heed  them,  love,  but  oh, 

The  loneliness  without  thee ! 

Father,  we  zvil!  be  comforted ! 

Thou  wast  the  gracious  giver : 
We  yield  her  up — not  dead,  not  dead — 

To  dwell  with  Thee  forever ! 
Take  Thou  our  child!     Ours  for  a  day, 

Thine,  while  the  ages  blossom  ! 
This  little  shining  head  we  lay 

In  the  Redeemer's  bosom ! 

The  snare  is  before  them,  the  pang  and  the  sorrow. 
The  breath  of  the  Syren,  the  voice  of  the  rod, 

The  crime  of  to-day,  the  despair  of  to-morrow, 
And  all  that  can  sever  the  soul  from  its  God. 

See  that  son  of  many  prayers;  he  was  consecrated  to  God 
in  infancy.  How  anxiously  do  those  Christian  parents  watch 
every  indication  of  sobriety.  How  ardently  do  they  hope  it 
may  result  in  his  salvation.  What  despondency  and  sinking 
of  heart  do  they  experience,  as  they  behold  him  grow  up  in 
impenitence.  He  is  about  to  leave  his  father's  house;  his 
mother  gives  him  a  Bible,  and  begs  him  to  read  it.  But  as  he 
passes  beyond  the  reach  of  parental  restraint,  he  casts  off  fear, 
restrains  prayer,  takes  his  seat  with  the  scorner,  and,  with  the 
drunkard's  unmeaning  laugh,  scoffs  at  the  Bible  and  the  Bible's 
God.  Behold  him  now  the  grief  of  parents,  the  shame  of 
friends;  an  outcast  from  society.  Were  it  not  for  the  hope 
that  at  some  future  period  he  might  be  overtaken  by  divine 
grace,  and  peradventure  might  repent,  would  it  not  be  the 
spontaneous  language  of  those  afflicted  parents,  "Would  God, 


SOLACE  FOR  BERRAVF.D  PARENTS.  205 

my  son,  that  you  had  never  been  born ;  would  that  you  had 
died  in  infancy,  ere  such  a  measure  of  guilt  and  wrath  had 
been  treasured  up  against  you !"  And  now  let  him  be  laid 
upon  his  dying  bed,  let  all  hope  of  his  repentance  be  taken 
away ;  and  see  him  pass  into  eternity  with  all  his  sins  upon  his 
head,  and  what  consolation  can  cheer  the  midnight  gloom  of 
such  bereavement?  Be  assured  that  there  is  a  measure  of 
grief  in  that  affliction,  compared  with  which  all  else  is  nothing. 
When  David's  infant  child  was  dead,  he  arose,  washed, 
anointed  himself,  and  took  refreshment :  but  when  Absalom 
died,  deep  in  sin  and  rebellion,  his  heart  broke,  and  burst  out 
in  an  irrepressible  flood  of  grief, — "O  my  son  Absalom,  my 
son,  my  son  Absalom,  would  God  I  had  died  for  thee,  O  Absa- 
lom, my  son,  my  son!" — But  are  our  children  gone?  Have 
we  committed  them  to  an  early  grave  ?  Do  they  sleep  the  sleep 
of  death?  If  so,  are  they  not  happy?  Have  I  not  proved 
that  they  are  happy — happy  to  the  full  extent  of  their  capaci- 
ties— happy  with  the  perfect  bliss  of  heaven? 

Mourn  not,  then,  for  the  dead. 
The  happy  dead  who  die  in  infancy — 
Calm  is  their  slumber  in  the  church-yard  bed, 
Called  early  from  life's  struggles  to  their  rest, 
Ere  yet  to  their  unconscious  lip  was  prest 
The  mingled  cup  of  frail  humanity. 
Oh  do  not  mourn  for  them,  their  lot  is  blest. 

No  more  confined  to  grov'ling  scenes  of  night. 
No  more  sad  tenants  pent  in  mortal  clay  ; 
Now  should  we  rather  hail  their  glorious  flight. 
And  trace  their  journey  to  the  realms  of  joy. 

We  are  not  only  desirous  to  see  our  children  happy,  but  to 
have  that  happiness  made  sure  to  them.  This  is  the  great 
struggle  of  earthly  ambition, — the  fond  desire  of  parents.  It 
is  their  uncertainty,  their  instability  which  most  painfully 
characterizes  the  joys  of  life.  "The  fashion  of  this  world 
passeth  away."  That  which  is  of,  or  connected  with,  the  earth, 
cannot  endure.  Like  its  own  changing  seasons,  its  own  uncer- 
tain sky,  its  own  ever-varying  phenomena,  it  abideth  not.  And 
the  foresight  of  such  coming  changes,  preparation  for  them, 
and  the  erection  of  some  safe  retreat,  where  we  and  ours  may 
take  refuge,  and  where  our  children  may  escape  the  rough 
adversities  of  life — this  is  the  highest  wisdom  of  man.  But 
the  happiness  of  departed  infants,  is  it  not  secure  and  certain? 


206  SOI.ACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

Does  it  not  rest  on  foundations,  immovable  by  wind  or  flood? 
The  anchor  of  their  hope,  is  it  not  within  the  veil?  The 
foundation  of  their  joys,  does  it  not  rise  in  the  paradise  of 
God?  The  tenure  of  their  bliss,  is  it  not  g^iaranteed  by  the 
promise  and  the  oath  of  Him  who  cannot  lie,— who  will  not 
deny  Himself,  and  who  is  the  same,  yesterday,  to-day,  and 
forever?  It  is.  And  let  then  even  reason  itself  teach  us  to 
submit,  and  to  rejoice  in  hope. 

The  Rev.  J.  S.  Meissner,  Moravian  missionary  in  Labrador, 
observes,  "We  have  known  what  it  is  to  mourn  over  the  loss 
of  beloved  children,  having  accompanied  two  to  their  resting- 
place  during  our  service  in  this  distant  land.  I  was  once 
standing  by  the  grave  of  my  departed  children,  under  a  bril- 
liant sun  and  cloudless  sky,  when  suddenly  a  light  shadow 
passed  over  the  green  turf.  Looking  up  for  the  cause,  T  beheld 
a  snow-white  gull  winging  her  lofty  flight  through  the  air. 
The  thought  immediately  struck  me — Thus  it  is  with  the  dear 
objects  of  my  mournful  remembrance.  Here  indeed  lies  the 
shadow,  but  above  is  the  living  principle.  Nor  was  the  reflec- 
tion without  comfort  to  my  wounded  spirit,  since  of  such  is  the 
kingdom  of  heaven." 

But  again,  if  we  have  made  some  tolerable  provision  for  the 
security  of  the  future  happiness  of  our  children,  our  next 
desire  is  to  see  them  in  such  a  situation  as  will  give  the  promise 
of  its  performance.  So  long  as  they  remain  within  the  years 
of  immaturity,  v/hile  they  are  unfixed  in  their  destiny,  or 
unsettled  in  their  earthly  relations,  however  ample  may  be  the 
provision  for  their  comfort,  there  is  still  connected  with  them 
the  deepest  solicitude.  And  if  ever  there  is  a  time  when  a 
parent  should  be  willing  to  say,  "Now,  Lord,  lettest  thou  thy 
servant  depart  in  peace,"  it  is  when  he  beholds  his  children, 
one  after  another,  choosing  the  path  of  uprightness  and  piety, 
and  all  settled  down,  each  in  his  own  homestead,  and  all 
together  walking  in  peaceful  and  affectionate  harmony.  But 
over  the  most  peaceful  establishment  of  sublunary  and  domes- 
tic bliss,  how  many  fitful  clouds  portentiously  roll  on  the 
thunder;  and  with  what  ruthless  ferocity  have  we  seen  death 
enter  the  limits  of  such  a  happy  community,  and  convert  it 
into  one  wide  waste  of  deserted  ruin.     But  the  infant  dead! 


solace;  for  bereavkd  parents.  207 

is  their  happiness  not  permanent,  and  unchangeable,  incorrupt- 
ible, undefiled,  and  such  as  cannot  fade  away?  The  infant 
dead ! — are  tiiey  not  settled  for  eternity,  made  immortally 
blessed,  and  far,  far,  and  for  ever,  removed  from  all  the 
sources  of  sorrow  and  of  change?  Instead,  therefore,  of 
indulging  in  those  vain  regrets,  which  suit  those  only  who 
never  look  above  earth's  bounded  scene,  and  centre  all  their 
treasures  here,  let  us  cherish  feelings  of  resignation,  thankful- 
ness and  hope. 

Let  me  not  mourn,  that  thou  wilt  be 

A  tenant  of  the  sky. — 
Escaped  from  life's  tumultuous  sea, 

And  frail  mortality. 
When  storms  arise,  and  tempests  blow, 
No  adverse  gale  thy  bark  shall  know. 

Let  me  rejoice,  to  think  that  thou 

Hast  early  joined  the  blest ; 
Before  thy  youthful  heart  could  know, 

Aught  to  disturb  its  rest, — 
Before  earth's  chilling  storms  had  given, 
A  blight  to  fruit  prepared  for  heaven. 

One  of  the  bitterest  pangs  too,  which  a  parent  can  experi- 
ence when  about  to  die,  is  the  thought  that  he  leaves  his  chil- 
dren in  an  evil  and  dangerous  world,  uncertain  what  will  be 
their  conduct  and  destiny.  While  with  the  utmost  confidence 
he  can  leave  all  the  temporal  allotments  of  his  fatherless 
children  with  God,  he  cannot  but  feel  some  sorrow  and  fore- 
boding at  heart,  in  view  of  the  uncertainty  vi^hich  overhangs 
their  future  prospects  as  moral  beings,  who  are  to  act,  choose, 
and  decide  for  themselves.  That  uncertainty  he  escapes,  who, 
before  his  own  departure,  sees  his  children  securely  established 
in  their  best  home  and  refuge.  Once  he  might  have  mourned, 
and  said  of  him  who  he  had  hoped  would  have  been  his  solace 
and  joy,  "How  is  the  strong  staff  broken,  the  beautiful  rod !" — 
But  now  as  he  thinks  of  the  uncertain  conflict  to  which  he 
would  have  been  exposed,  with  the  temptations  and  dangers 
of  a  wicked  world,  he  is  grateful  that  the  blessed  Jesus  holds 
the  keys  of  life  and  death,  and  that,  like  the  skilful  gardener, 
whose  experienced  eye  detects  the  approaching  storm,  and  who 
knows  when  to  hide  the  lily  in  its  narrow  bed,  He  knows  when 
to  make  His  little  ones  secure  from  the  storm  and  tempest. 


208  SOLACR  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

Our  children  are  gone — never  to  return !  But  it  is  also  true 
that  all  solicitude  is  gone ; — and  while  we  look  down  the  com- 
ing future,  and  see  it  as  dark  with  storms  as  the  troubled  past, 
and  as  full  of  fiery  trial  as  the  present,  we  feel  no  conscious- 
ness of  alarm  for  those  who  are  now  safely  housed  in  their 
home  in  the  skies.  To  grieve  us  even  for  our  profit  is  not  the 
sole  reason  why  they  are  consigned  to  an  early  grave.  This 
is  the  passage  by  which  even  they  must  be  brought  into  the 
presence  of  God,  and  this  is  the  time  when  He  pleases  to  call 
for  them.  How  animating  the  thought,  that  those  powers 
which  were  but  beginning  to  unfold  themselves,  are  now 
expanding,  and  employed  amid  the  glories  of  the  heavenly 
paradise.  Whether  they  were  spared  for  a  season,  and  multi- 
plied attractions  and  endearments,  or  were  cut  off  from  the 
womb,  and  had  the  allotment  which  Job  so  passionately  wished 
had  been  his,  the  same  end  has  been  answered.  Their  short- 
lived existence  on  earth,  may  appear  as  a  kind  of  blank,  but 
God  does  nothing  in  vain.  Their  life  below,  short  as  it  was, 
has  served  to  introduce  them  into  the  eternal  state,  as  well  as 
the  life  of  the  hoary  headed  patriarch.  At  the  same  time, 
their  death  by  its  effects  will  impress  a  character  on  the  eternity 
of  surviving  witnesses,  relatives,  and  friends.  Let  bereaved 
parents  then  say,  "It  is  well  with  the  child.  It  is  the  Lord, 
let  Him  do  what  seemeth  good  in  His  sight."  He  who  wept 
at  the  grave  of  Lazarus,  hath  hallowed  the  tears  of  affection, 
but  He  forbids  us  to  sorrow,  as  if  there  were  no  hope. 

There  is  something  pleasing  in  this  fact:  that  every  infant 
that  you  lose  is  a  link  that  binds  you  to  the  grave,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  a  link  also  that  binds  you  to  eternity  on  the  other. 
A  portion  of  yourself  has  taken  possession  of  the  tomb,  to 
remind  you  that  you  must  lie  down  there.  A  soul  that  was 
related  to  yourself  has  taken  possession  of  eternity,  to  remind 
you  that  you  must  enter  there.  Our  bodies  are,  through  our 
infants,  in  communion  with  the  dust ;  and  our  spirits,  through 
theirs,  with  the  everlasting  throne.  We  are  so  disposed  to 
strike  our  roots  into  this  fading  and  fainting  earth,  that  it 
becomes  mercy  on  the  part  of  God  to  send  those  chastisements, 
which  loosen  our  affections  from  a  world  doomed  to  flame. 
Each  infant  that  we  lose  is  a  tie  (holy  and  happy  truth!)  less 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  209 

to  bind  us  to  this  world,  and  a  tie  more  to  bind  our  hearts  to 
that  better  world  where  our  infants  have  preceded  us.  It  is 
thus  God  gradually  loosens  the  tree  before  it  falls.  Death 
thus  loses  half  its  pain  before  it  overtakes  us.  Happy  truth, 
if  we  realize  it!  Happy  lesson,  if  we  feel  it!  Good  and 
gracious  is  that  Father,  who  thus  preaches  to  His  people  from 
the  infant's  bier,  when  they  will  not  learn  the  lesson  which 
they  need  from  His  ambassadors  in  the  pulpit. 

A  shepherd  long  had  sought  in  vain 

To  call  a  wandering  sheep  : 
He  strove  to  make  its  pathway  plain 

Through  dangers  thick  and  deep. 

But  yet  the  wanderer  stood  aloof, 

And  still  refused  to  come  ; 
Nor  would  she   ever  hear  reproof, 

Or  turn  to  seek  her  home. 

At  last  the  gentle  shepherd  took 

Her  little  lamb  from  view  ! 
The  mother  gazed  with  anguished  look — 

She  turned — and  followed  too  ! 

Some  years  ago  I  was  called  to  attend  the  funeral  of  a  child 
five  years  of  age.  She  had  sickened  and  died  suddenly.  The 
father  I  knew  not,  except  that  he  was  an  infidel.  This  child 
had  attended  my  Sabbath  school,  and  she  had  left  behind  some 
interesting  conversation  with  several  members  of  the  church. 
This,  after  the  child  had  died,  was  communicated  to  the 
bereaved  mother  for  her  consolation.  At  the  funeral  the 
mother  appeared  more  deeply  interested  in  the  subject  of  her 
own  salvation  than  that  of  the  loss  of  her  child.  The  next 
Sabbath  this  family  were  at  my  meeting  and  requested  prayers 
that  their  affliction  might  be  sanctified.  They  continued  to 
attend  meeting.  Sabbath  after  Sabbath,  and  on  the  fifth  Sab- 
bath, the  father  became  hopefully  pious.  Soon  after  this  his 
wife  became  pious,  and  then  a  sister,  and  then  a  young  lady 
residing  in  the  family;  and  the  father,  mother,  sister,  and 
young  lady,  all,  on  the  same  Sabbath,  made  a  public  confession 
of  their  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  That  father  is  now  a 
pillar  in  the  Church.  This  great  change  in  that  family  was 
produced  instrumentally  by  the  death  of  that  child! 

Who  will  say  this  dear  child  lived  and  died  in  vain  ?  Will 
not  many  an  aged  Christian  have  fewer  gems  to  brighten  their 

14— Vol.  X. 


210  SOIvACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

crowns  of  rejoicing,  than  will  this  babe  in  Christ?  "That  life 
is  long  which  answers  life's  great  end." 

During  a  short  visit,  says  one,  to  the  sea-shore  of  our  State, 
some  two  years  since,  with  a  party  of  friends,  it  was  proposed 
one  bright  afternoon  that  we  should  make  up  a  party  and  go 
down  the  harbor  on  a  fishing  excursion.  We  accordingly 
started,  and  after  sailing  about  three  miles,  a  young  lady  of 
the  company  declined  going  farther,  and  requested  us  to  land 
her  on  one  of  the  small  islands  in  the  harbor,  where  she  pro- 
posed to  stay  until  our  return.  My  little  boy,  then  about  four 
years  old,  preferred  remaining  with  her.  Accordingly,  we  left 
them,  and  proceeded  some  six  miles  farther.  We  remained 
out  much  longer  than  we  intended,  and  as  night  approached  a 
thick  fog  set  in  from  sea,  entirely  enshrouding  us.  ^^'ithout 
compass,  and  not  knowing  the  right  direction  to  steer,  we 
groped  our  way  along  for  some  hours,  until  finally  we  dis- 
tinguished the  breaking  of  the  surf  on  one  of  the  islands,  but 
were  at  a  loss  to  know  which  one  of  them.  I  stood  up  in  the 
stern  of  the  boat,  where  I  had  been  steering,  and  shouted  with 
all  my  strength.  I  listened  a  moment,  and  heard  through  the 
thick  fog  and  above  the  breaking  of  the  surf,  the  sweet  voice 
of  my  boy  calling,  "Come  this  way,,  father !— steer  straight  for 
me— I'm  here  waiting  for  you."  We  steered  by  that  sound, 
and  soon  my  little  boy  leaped  into  my  arms  with  joy,  saying, 
"I  knew  you  would  hear  me,  father !"  and  nestled  to  sleep  on 
my  bosom.  The  child  and  the  maiden  are  both  sleeping  now. 
They  died  in  two  short  weeks  after  the  period  I  refer  to,  with 
hardly  an  interval  of  time  between  their  deaths.  Now  tossed 
on  the  rough  sea  of  life,  without  compass  or  guide,  enveloped 
in  the  fog,  and  surrounded  by  rocks,  I  seem  to  hear  the  sound 
of  that  cherub  voice  calling  from  the  bright  shore,  "Come  this 
way,  father ! — steer  straight  for  me !"  When  oppressed  with 
sadness,  I  take  my  way  to  our  quiet  cemetery ;  still,  as  I  stand 
by  one  little  mound,  the  same  musical  voice  echoes  from 
thence — "Come  this  way,  father ! — I'm  waiting  for  thee !" 

We  are  too  ready,  notwithstanding  all  the  admonitions  we 
receive,  to  associate  the  hope  of  prolonged  existence  with  the 
period  of  life  and  the  quantum  of  health:  and  thus  are 
thousands  kept  in  a  trance-like  indifference  to  the  urgent  calls 


soivACE  FOR  be;re;aved  parents.  211 

of  death  and  eternity.  And  surely  if  aught  beside  the  dread 
reality  of  that  hour  of  doom,  and  that  after  judgment  of  which 
it  is  the  prelude,  can  break  this  delusive,  this  soul-destroying 
spell,  it  is  when  we  behold  death  lay  the  grasp  of  his  icy  fingers 
upon  some  moving  form  of  youth  and  beauty,  and  in  the  very 
fulness  of  exuberant  and  ruddy  health,  consign  it  to  the  tomb. 
Here  surely,  Oh  man !  you  cannot  but  be  taught,  that  youth, 
or  strength,  or  health,  are  no  barriers  to  the  approach  of  death, 
and  that  in  this  warfare  there  is  no  retreat  and  no  victory. 
In  this  contest  all  are  equal,  all  alike  mortal,  and  all  alike 
destined  to  death,  and  to  that  "judgment  which  is  after  death !" 
The  highest,  as  well  as  the  lowest,  the  richest,  as  well  as  the 
poorest,  must  bow  to  the  stroke  of  bereavement,  of  affliction, 
and  of  death.  How  forcibly  was  this  truth  taught  in  the  case 
of  the  Princess  Charlotte  : 

A  throne  on  earth  awaited  thee, 

A  nation  long'd  to  see  thy  face: 
Heir  to  a  glorious  ancestry, 

And  father  of  a  mightier  race. 

Vain  hope ! — that  throne  thou  must  not  fill  ; 

Thee  shall  that  nation  ne'er  behold  ; 
Thine  ancient  house  is   heirless  still  ; 

Thy  line  will  never  be  unroU'd. 

Yet  while  we  mourn  thy  flight  from  earth, 

Thine  was  a  destiny  sublime : 
Caught  up  to  Paradise  in  birth — 

Snatch'd  by  Eternity  from  Time. 

The  mother  knew  her  offspring  dead : 

Oh  !  was  it  grief,  or  was  it  love 
That  broke  her  heart?     The  spirit  fled 

To  seek  her  nameless  child  above. 

Led  by  his  natal  star,  she  trod, 

His  path  to  Heav'n  ;  the  meeting  there, 

And  how  they  stood  before  their  God, 
The  day  of  judgment  shall  declare. 

Again,  how  constantly  do  we  find  ourselves  associating  the 
guilt  and  the  danger  of  sin  with  open  and  gross  enormities,  to 
the  entire  forgetfulness  of  the  truth,  that  after  all  sin  lies  in 
the  heart — that  this  is  its  fountain — and  that  from  its  enmity 
to  God,  and  aversion  to  holiness,  proceed  all  other  transgres- 
sions. Oh,  what  a  rebuke  does  God  give  to  this  delusion  of 
Satan  by  which  thousands  are  ensnared  in  the  net  of  perdition, 
when  He  brings  death,  the  effect  of  sin,  and  the  demonstration 
of  His  infinite  hatred  of  sin,  even  upon  infants !     For  if  they. 


212  SOIvACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

who  have  not  sinned  personally,  are  made  to  suffer  the  curse 
of  a  violated  law,  how  shall  those  escape  who,  to  all  the  gtiilt 
or  original  corruption,  have  added  all  the  blackness  of  their 
own  voluntary  iniquity,  and  their  own  perverse  rejection  of 
mercy  ? 

How  willingly,  too,  do  men  deceive  their  hearts  and  sustain 
themselves  in  a  course  of  sin,  by  interpreting  that  goodness 
and  long-sufferance  of  God  by  which  He  would  "lead  them  to 
repentance,"  into  an  indifference  to  the  conduct  of  His 
creatures.  Approach,  deluded  mortals,  to  that  infant  bed ! 
There  lies  an  innocent  and  helpless  nursling  in  the  convulsive 
throes  of  death.  Unavailing  to  its  relief  are  a  mother's 
prayers,  or  a  physician's  help.  Bold  infidelity,  say  wherefore 
is  it  so?  Is  God  so  over-willing  to  repent  Him  of  His  threat- 
enings,  as  you  say  He  is?  Is  God  so  willing  to  pass  by 
unatoned  transgression  as  you  aver  He  is?  Wherefore,  then., 
does  He  thus  inflict  even  on  this  helpless  babe  the  awful  curse 
pronounced  on  man  thousands  of  years  ago  ?  Miserable  men  ! 
who  remember  not  that  God  "treasures  up  wrath  against  the 
day  of  wrath,  and  His  righteous  revelation  against  every  son 
of  man  who  doeth  evil ;  and  that  the  wicked  shall  be  turned 
into  hell  with  all  who  forget  God." 

To  unbelieving  and  unconverted  parents,  therefore,  the  death 
of  their  infants  speaks  in  solemn  and  impressive  tones.  Surely 
such  parents  "are  summoned  by  their  best  feelings  to  the  cross. 
Though  they  are  guilty  of  violating  God's  law,  and  yet  more 
of  refusing  God's  gospel,  their  infants,  if  lost  during  the  period 
of  infancy,  are  not  suffering  the  consequences  of  their  parents' 
guilt ;  they  rest  from  their  tears,  they  are  snatched  from  the 
contagion  of  their  company.  Here  is  mercy  to  their  souls  as 
well  as  mercy  to  their  bodies.  Their  infants  are  in  perennial 
peace;  but  if  the  parents  die  unsaved,  unsanctified,  untrans- 
formed,  unrenewed,  a  yawning  chasm  must  separate  them  from 
their  infants  for  ever  and  ever.  Theirs  will  be  the  joy,  but 
yours,  unconverted  parent,  must  be  the  sadness ;  theirs  the 
blessing,  but  yours  for  ever  the  conscious  and  consuming  curse. 
No  interchange  of  love  shall  ever  cross  the  gulf  that  severs 
you.  The  stroke  that  severs  you  in  time  severs  you  in  eternity 
also." 


SOIvACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  813 

Such  then  are  the  lessons  taught  by  this  dispensation  of 
providence,  by  which  God  would  admonish,  and  instruct  us, 
and  by  which,  these  afflictions,  light  compared  with  what  they 
might  be,  and  with  what  we  deserve,  and  light  contrasted  with 
the  whole  duration  of  our  being,  may  work  out  for  us  an 
exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory.  And  when  we  duly 
consider  the  necessity  and  importance  of  these  truths  and  their 
bearing  upon  our  present  and  everlasting  interest; — and  to 
their  consideration  add  the  delightful  assurance  that  it  is  well 
with  our  departed  infants,  can  we  not  confidently  and  triumph- 
antly say  that  they  are  thus  early  removed  in  mercy  to  them, 
and  in  kindness  to  us?  Is  not  the  bitterness  of  their  death 
thus  removed,  and  its  sting  extracted?  Can  we  not  with  Job 
say,  "the  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away;  blessed 
be  the  name  of  the  Lord?"  Can  we  not  with  Aaron  exclaim, 
"It  is  the  Lord,  let  Him  do  as  seemeth  to  Him  good  ?"  Can  we 
not  with  David  rejoicingly  declare,  "They  cannot  come  to  us, 
but  we  can  go  to  them  ?"  Yes,  we  can  go  to  them.  They  are 
not  lost,  but  gone  before.  There  in  that  world  of  light,  and 
love,  and  joy,  they  await  our  coming.  There  do  they  beckon 
us  to  ascend.  There  do  they  stand  ready  to  welcome  us. 
There  may  we  meet  them,  when  a  few  more  suns  or  seasons 
shall  have  cast  their  departing  shadows  upon  our  silent  grave. 
Then  shall  our  joy  be  full  and  our  sorrows  ended,  and  all  tears 
wiped  from  our  eyes. 

Oh !  when  a  mother  meets  on  high. 
The  child  she  lost  in  infancy  ; 
Hath  she  not  then  for  pains  and  fears. 
The  day  of  woe,  the  watchful  night, 
For  all  her  sorrows,  all  her  tears, 
An  over  payment  of  delight  ? 

Death  separates,  but  it  can  never  disunite  those  who  are 
bound  together  in  Christ  Jesus.  To  them,  death  in  this  power 
of  an  endless  separation,  is  abolished.  It  is  no  more  death, 
but  a  sweet  departure,  a  journey  from  Earth  to  Heaven.  Our 
children  are  still  ours.  We  are  still  their  parents.  We  are 
yet  one  family — one  in  memory — one  in  hope — one  in  spiritual 
communion.  Our  children  are  yet  with  us,  and  dwell  with 
us  in  our  sweetest,  fondest  recollections.  We,  too,  are  yet 
with  them,  in  the  bright  anticipations  of  our  reunion  with  them, 


214  SOLACED  FOR  BEREIAVED  PARENTS. 

in  the  glories  of  the  upper  sanctuary.     We  mingle  together 
indeed  no  more  in  sorrow  and  in  pain, 

But  we  shall  join  love's  buried  ones  again 
In  endless  bands,  and  in  eternal  peace. 

Blessed  and  glorious  hope,  and  blessed  and  glorious  gospel 
by  which  it  is  inspired !  I  have  gloried  in  thee,  but  never  as 
I  do  now.  I  have  found  thee  precious,  but  never  as  precious 
as  now.  I  have  hoped  in  thy  word,  and  stayed  myself  on  thy 
promises,  and  exulted  in  thy  immortal  hopes,  but  never  aught 
as  now.  When  I  stood  a  fond  parent,  surrounded  by  my  little 
ones,  growing  up  in  their  sweet  loveliness  around  me,  my 
future  delight,  my  future  helpmates  and  companions,  I  rejoiced 
in  the  sunshine  which  this  heavenly  gospel  threw  around  me. 
But  when  I  stood  bereft  of  these  loved  ones — when  I  saw  them 
cold  in  the  speechlessness  of  death — when  I  put  them  both 
together  in  their  clayey  bed,  there  to  sleep  the  sleep  that  knows 
no  waking — when  my  heart  shuddered  to  think  that  there  they 
would  lie  exposed  to  winter's  storms  and  the  summer's  torrid 
heat — then  did  thy  cheerful  promise,  span  as  with  a  bow  of 
hope  my  dreary  darkness,  sustain  my  sinking  heart,  and  enable 
me,  even  with  death,  and  its  horrid  desolations  before  me, 
triumphantly  to  exclaim,  "Oh  death  where  is  thy  sting,  oh 
grave  where  is  thy  victory !  thanks  be  to  God  who  giveth  me 
the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ !"  And  here  let  me 
commend,  especially  to  bereaved  parents,  this  "balm  for 
wounded  spirits."  Clasp  it,  sorrowing  mourner,  to  your 
bosom.  Receive  it  into  your  inmost  heart.  Treasure  it  as 
your  pearl  of  greatest  price.  Seek  it  as  your  first  and  greatest 
object  of  pursuit.  Buy  it  at  whatever  cost.  Sell  it — no,  not 
for  worlds.  Heaven  is  not  only  our  home,  our  rest,  our 
heaven.  It  is  now  the  home  of  our  children.  It  is  our  com- 
mon inheritance.  Let  it  then  be  the  prize  of  our  high  calling. 
Towards  it  let  us  press.  To  it  let  us  continually  ascend.  For 
it  let  us  diligently  prepare,  that  when  our  earthly  house  of  this 
tabernacle  is  taken  down,  we  may  have  a  building  of  God,  an 
house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  Heavens. 

It  may  be,  as  Cotton  Maher  observes,  your  affliction  is 
the  loss  of  children.  Well,  have  you  not  read  such  a  message 
sent  to  a  godly  man,  as  that  in  1  Sam.  ii.  33.     "The  son  of 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVliD  PARENTS.  215 

thine  whom  I  shall  not  cut  off,  shall  be  to  consume  thine  eyes, 
and  to  grieve  thine  heart."  It  is  possible  that,  if  thy  child  had 
lived,  it  might  have  made  thee  father  of  a  fool  or,  (that  I  may 
speak  to  the  sex  that  is  most  unable  to  bear  this  trial)  the 
mother  of  a  shame.  It  is  a  very  ordinary  thing  for  one  living 
child  to  occasion  more  trouble  than  ten  dead  ones.  However, 
your  spiritual  interests  may  be  exceedingly  injured  by  the  tem- 
poral delights  which  you  desire ;  you  may  rue  what  you  wish, 
because  it  may  be  an  idol,  which  will  render  your  souls  like 
the  "barren  heath  in  the  wilderness  before  the  Lord."  It  was 
the  very  direful  calamity  of  the  ancient  Israelites,  in  Psalm 
cvi.  15.  "The  Lord  gave  them  their  request,  but  sent  leanness 
into  their  souls."  A  lean  soul,  a  wretched  soul,  a  soul  pining 
away  in  its  iniquities,  is  oftentimes  the  effect  of  those  fine 
things  which  we  dote  upon.  It  is  a  blasted  soul  that  sets  up  a 
creature  in  the  room,  on  the  throne  of  the  great  God,  that  gives 
unto  a  creature  those  affections  and  cares  which  are  due  unto 
the  great  God  alone.  Such  idolatry  the  soul  is  too  frequently 
by  prosperity  seduced  into.  We  are  told,  in  Prov.  i.  32.  "The 
prosperity  of  fools  destroys  them ;"  many  a  fool  is  thus 
destroyed.  O  fearful  case !  A  full  table  and  a  lean  soul !  A 
high  title  and  a  lean  soul !  A  numerous  posterity  and  a  soul 
even  like  the  kine  in  Pharaoh's  dream !  Madness  is  in  our 
hearts  if  we  tremble  not  at  this ;  soul  calamities  are  sore  calami- 
ties. 

Let  not  then  the  death  of  your  children  cause  any  incon- 
solable grief.  The  loss  of  children  did  I  say — nay,  let  me 
recall  so  harsh  a  word.  The  children  we  count  lost,  are  not  so. 
The  death  of  our  children  is  not  the  loss  of  our  children.  They 
are  not  lost,  but  given  back ;  they  are  not  lost,  but  sent  before. 

This  is  the  calamity  which  many  of  you  at  some  time  or 
other  have  experienced ;  the  death  of  children  is  a  thing  in 
which  the  children  of  Jacob  seldom  escape  a  resemblance  of 
their  father.  Many  carry  themselves  under  the  trial  as  if  a 
death  of  virtue,  yea,  as  if  a  death  of  reason  had  befallen 
them;  but  recollect  yourselves,  O  dejected  Christians,  and 
be  not  like  them  that  mourn  without  hope  this  day.  Let 
bereaved  parents  be  still  believing  parents ;  the  voice  of 
the  great  God  that   formed  all   things  is  unto  them,   as  in 


316  SOLACE  FOR  BEttEAVED  PARENTS. 

Jer.  xiii.  16.  "Refrain  thy  voice  from  weeping,  and  thine 
eyes  from  tears,  for  thy  work  shall  be  rewarded,  saith  the 
L,ord."  Let  the  thoughts  which  have  been  set  before  us  com- 
pose and  settle  our  minds  under  this  affliction.  Let  us  not  say, 
th'is  thing  is  against  us ;  but  let  us  say,  "the  Lord  gave,  and 
the  Lord  hath  taken  away ;  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord." 
It  is  indeed  very  true,  that  this  affliction  is  none  the  most  easy 
to  be  borne;  the  heart  of  a  parent  will  have  peculiar  passions 
working  in  it,  at  such  a  time  as  this,  though  there  be  greater 
sorrows  than  those  with  which  we  follow  a  child  unto  the 
grave ;  I  bless  God  it  is  a  more  bitter  thing  to  say,  my  sin  is 
mighty;  or  to  say,  my  soul  is  guilty,  than  it  is  to  say,  my  child 
is  dead;  that  moan,  "I  have  pierced  my  Saviour,"  is  more 
heart-wounding,  than  to  mourn  as  one  mourneth  for  a  first- 
born. Yet  few  outward,  earthly  anguishes  are  equal  unto 
these.  The  dying  of  a  child  is  like  the  tearing  of  a  limb  from 
us.  But  O  remember,  that  if  ever  we  had  any  grace  in  our 
souls,  we  have  ere  this  willingly  plucked  out  a  right  eye,  and 
cut  off  a  right  hand,  for  the  sake  of  God.  Why  should  we  not 
then,  at  the  call  of  God,  readily  part  with  a  limb,  and  leave  him 
room  to  say,  "Now  I  know  that  thou  feared  me,  because 
thou  hast  not  withheld  thy  son,  thine  only  son,  from  me."  It 
was  from  God  that  we  received  those  dear  pledges,  pur  chil- 
dren, and  it  is  to  God  that  we  return  them.  We  cannot  quarrel 
with  our  God,  if  He  say  unto  us.  Give  them  up ;  you  have  had 
them  long  enough !  We  knew  what  they  were  when  first  we 
took  them  into  our  arms.  We  knew  that  they  were  postherds, 
that  they  were  mortals,  that  the  worms  which  sometimes  kill 
them,  or  at  least  will  eat  them,  are  but  their  name-sakes ;  and 
that  a  dead  child  is  a  sight  no  more  surprising  than  a  broken 
pitcher  or  a  blasted  flower. 

And  then,  adds  Mather,  we  did  not,  we  do  not  know,  what 
they  might  be,  in  case  they  were  continued  among  the  living 
on  the  earth.  We  cannot  tell  whether  our  sons  would  prove 
as  plants  grown  up  in  their  youth,  and  our  daughters  as  corner 
stones  polished  after  the  similitude  of  a  palace;  or,  whether 
our  sons  might  not,  like  Isaac's  son,  do  those  things  that  would 
be  "a  grief  of  mind  unto  us,"  and  our  daughters,  like  Jeptha's 
daughter,  be  of  them  that  trouble  us.     Christians,  let  us  be 


SOLACK  FOR  BERKAVED  PARENTS.  217 

content  that  our  Nvise  and  good  God  should  choose  our  portion 
for  us ;  He  will  appoint  us  none  but  a  goodly  heritage.  Our 
temptation  is  no  more  than  what  is  common  to  men,  yea,  and 
to  good  men.  The  greatest  part  of  those  human  spirits,  that 
are  now  beholding  the  face  of  God  in  glory,  are  such  as  dwelt 
in  the  children  of  pious  people,  departed  in  their  infancy.  And 
what  have  we  to  say,  why  we  should  not  undergo  it  as  well  as 
them.  Was  the  infant  whose  decease  we  deplore,  one  that 
was  very  pretty,  one  that  had  pretty  features,  pretty  speeches, 
pretty  actions?  Well,  at  the  resurrection  of  the  just  we  shall 
see  it  again ;  the  Lord  Jesus  will  deal  with  our  dead  children 
as  the  prophets  Elijah  and  Elisha  did  by  those  whom  they 
raised  of  old ;  He  will  bring  them  to  us.  recovered  from  the 
pale  jaws  of  death ;  and  how  amiable,  how  beautiful,  how 
comely  they  will  then  be,  no  tongue  is  able  to  express,  or  heart 
to  conceive !  Though  their  beauty  consume  in  the  grave,  yet 
it  shall  be  restored,  it  shall  be  increased,  when  they  shall  put 
ofif  their  bed-clothes  in  the  morning  of  the  day  of  God. 

Again :  was  the  infant  now  lamented,  very  suddenly  snatched 
away,  and  perhaps  awfully  too !  not  merely  by  a  convulsion, 
but  by  scalding,  by  burning,  by  drowning,  by  shooting,  by  stab- 
bing, or  by  some  unusual  harm  ?  Truly  it  is  often  so,  that  the 
quicker  the  death  the  better.  It  is  more  desirable  for  our  chil- 
dren to  feel  but  a  few  minutes  of  pain,  than  it  is  for  them  to 
lie  groaning  in  those  exquisite  agonies  which  would  cause  us 
even  ourselves  to  wish  that  the  Lord  would  take  them  out  of 
their  misery.  As  for  any  more  grievous  and  signal  circum- 
stance attending  our  dying  children,  our  best  course  will  be 
to  have  it  said  of  us,  "They  ceased ;  saying.  The  will  of  the 
Lord  be  done !"  As  the  love  or  wrath  of  God  is  not  certainly 
declared  in,  so  our  grief  before  Him  should  not  be  too  much 
augmented  by,  such  things  as  these.  And  it  is  a  favour,  if  so 
much  as  one  of  our  children  be  left  alive  unto  us.  Let  not 
the  sense  of  one  trouble  swallow  up  the  sense  of  a  thousand 
mercies.  The  mother  from  whom  a  violent  death  has  taken 
one  of  her  two  children,  may  immediately  embrace  the  other 
and  say,  "Blessed  be  God  who  has  left  me  this." 

But  once  more ;  is  the  deceased  infant  an  only  child  ?  Are 
we  now  ready  to  sigh — All  is  gone !     Nay,  thou  hast  but  a  poor 


218  SOLACE  FOR  beri;ave;d  parents. 

all,  if  this  were  all.  I  hope  thy  only  child  is  not  thy  only  joy. 
If  thou  hast  ever  experienced  the  new  birth,  the  sense  of  thy 
soul  is,  one  Jesus  is  worth  ten  children;  yea,  one  Christ  is 
worth  ten  worlds.  What  though  all  thy  candles  are  put  out! 
The  sun,  the  sun  of  righteousness  is  arising  to  thy  soul  for 
ever.  An  undone  man  art  thou  indeed !  thou  hast  thy  little 
glass  of  water  spilt  or  spoilt,  while  thou  hast  a  fountain,  a 
living  fountain  running  by  thy  door!  The  blessed  God  calls 
thee,  my  child ;  and  that  is  infinitely  better  than  a  name  of  sons 
and  of  daughters. 

Finally,  says  Mather,  have  we  any  doubts  about  the  eternal 
salvation  of  the  children  which  we  have  buried  out  of  our 
sight?  Indeed  as  to  grown  children,  there  is  often  too  sad 
cause  of  suspicion  or  solicitude ;  and  yet  here,  the  sovereign 
disposals  of  God  must  be  submitted  to.  Besides,  though  it  may 
be  we  could  not  see  such  plain  marks  and  signs  of  grace  in  our 
adult  children  as  we  could  have  wished  for,  nevertheless  they 
might  have  the  root  of  the  matter  in  them.  There  are  many 
serious,  gracious,  well-inclined  young  people,  who  conceal  from 
every  body  the  evidences  of  their  repentance,  and  the  instances 
of  their  devotion.  You  cannot  tell  what  the  Lord  did  for  the 
souls  of  your  poor  children  before  He  took  them  out  of  the 
world.  Perhaps  they  sought,  they  found  mercy  at  the  last. 
The  child  of  a  good  parent  is  not  to  be  despaired  of,  though 
turned  off  the  gallows. 

But  as  to  young  children,  the  fear  of  God  will  take  away 
all  matter  of  scruple  in  the  owners  of  them.  Parents,  can  you 
not  sincerely  say,  that  you  have  chosen  God  in  Christ  for  the 
best  portion,  as  of  yourselves,  so  of  your  children?  Answer 
this:  if  your  children  had  been  spared  unto  you,  would  it  not 
have  been  your  care  to  have  them  brought  up  in  the  nurture 
and  admonition  of  the  Lord?  Would  you  not  have  used  all 
prayers  and  pains  to  have  them  engaged  unto  the  service  of  the 
living  God,  and  unto  a  just  aversion  to  all  the  vile  idols  and 
vain  courses  of  the  world?  Then  be  of  good  cheer:  your 
children  are  in  a  better  place,  a  better  state,  than  you  yourselves 
are  yet  arrived  unto.  The  faithful  God  hath  promised,  I  will 
be  their  God,  as  well  as  thy  God.  O  say.  This  is  all  my  desire, 
though  the  Lord  suffer  not  my  house  to  grow.     Those  dear 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  219 

children  are  gone  from  your  kind  arms,  into  the  kinder  arms 
of  Jesus,  and  this  is  by  far  the  best  of  all  to  have  children  this 
day  in  heaven.  Truly  this  is  an  honour  which  neither  you  nor 
I  are  worthy  of.  But  so  it  is :  the  King  of  kings  hath  sent  for 
our  children  to  confer  a  kingdom  on  them.  They  are  gone 
from  a  dark  vale  of  sin  and  shame ;  they  are  gone  into  the  land 
of  light,  and  life,  and  love ;  there  they  are  with  the  spirits  of 
just  men  made  perfect ;  there  they  serve  the  Lord  day  and  night 
in  his  temple,  having  all  tears  wiped  from  their  eyes ;  and  from 
thence  methinks  I  hear  them  crying  aloud  unto  us,  "As  well  as 
you  love  us  we  would  not  be  with  you  again :  weep  not  for  us, 
but  for  yourselves,  and  count  not  yourselves  at  home  till  you 
come  to  be,  as  we  are,  for  ever  with  the  Lord." 

I  have  done.  The  fit  epitaph  of  a  dead  infant  (that,  that 
alone  is  enough  to  be  the  solace  of  a  sad  parent),  is,  "Of  such 
is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."* 

To  you  who  are  still  the  parents  of  living  children,  or  who 
may  be  such,  let  me  say.  Take  heed  and  beware  of  regarding 
as  your  own,  what  is  entrusted  to  you  by  the  Lord,  and  for 
the  Lord.  Look  upon  your  children  as  immortals — as  passing, 
you  know  not  how  rapidly — to  the  world  beyond.  While 
provident  of  their  present  wants  and  temporal  comforts,  make 
their  heavenly  welfare  your  chief  concern.  Let  your  language 
be  that  of  the  poet. 

Dear  cherished  babes,  if  you  should  have 

To  travel  far  alone, 
And  weep  by  turns  at  many  a  grave 

Before  you  reach  your  own  ; 
May  He  who  bade  you  weep,  be  nigh 

To  wipe  away  your  tears, 
And  point  you  to  a  world  on  high. 

Beyond  these  mournful  years. 
Yet  if  it  be  His  holy  will, 

I  pray,  that  hand  in  hand. 
We  all  may  travel  many  a  hill 

Of  this  the  pilgrim  land. 
With  Zion's  shining  gate  in  view 

Through  every  danger  rise, 
And  form  a  family  anew, 

Unbroken  in  the  skies. 

Our  beauteous  child  we  laid  amidst  the  silence  of  the  dead. 

We  heaped  the  earth  and  spread  the  turf  above  the  cherub  head  ; 

We  turned  again  to  sunny  life,  to  other  ties  as  dear. 

And  the  world  has  thought  us  comforted,  when  we  have  dried  the  tear. 

*Right  Thoughts  in  Sad  Hours. 


220  soLACc;  for  bereaved  parents. 

O  we  have  one,  and  only  one,  secure  in  sacred  trust, 
It  is  the  lone  and  lovely  one  that's  sleeping  in  the  dust ; 
We  fold  it  in  our  arms  again,  we  see  it  by  our  side, 
In  the  helplessness  of  innocence  which  sin  has  never  tried. 

All  earthly  trust,  all  mortal  years,  however  light  they  fly, 

But  darken  on  the  glowing  cheek,  and  dim  the  eagle  eye  ; 

But  there,  our  bright,  unwithering  flower — our  spirit's  hoarded  store — 

We  keep  through  every  chance  and  change,  the  same  for  evermore. 

Onie  more  example  of  peculiar  ioterest  will  be  given  im  the 
words  of  the  gentleman  whose  experience  it  narrates.  Visiting 
a  friend,  the  writer  says : 

That  evening,  sweet  in  memory  to  me,  we  became  firm 
friends.  "She  loved  me  because  when  she  asked  papa,  he  said 
he  did."  She  sat  with  me  a  little  while,  and  I  told  her  an  old 
fairy  story  which  most  strangely  came  to  my  remembrance, 
and  then,  after  she,  her  papa  and  myself  had  had  a  frolic,  she 
went  to  bed. 

The  next  day  we  all  went  out  for  a  drive,  and  a  delightful 
one  we  had.  Little  Bessie  was  as  bright  and  beautiful  as  the 
day,  but  there  was  sometimes  a  strange  thoughtfulness  of 
expression  upon  her  face  which  troubled  me  as  being  beyond 
her  years.  As  I  was  talking  with  her  father,  I  said  something 
jeering  about  Him  who  led  the  only  pure  life  upon  the  earth. 
Richard  said  not  a  word  in  reply,  but  motioned  to  me  to  look 
at  little  Bessie.  She  was  gazing  into  my  face  with  a  look 
of  mingled  horror  and  surprise,  an  expression  such  as  I  never 
saw  before  or  since,  and  which  I  shall  never  forget.  She 
gazed  so  for  a  moment.  No  one  spoke.  Never  had  anything 
before  been  able  to  make  me  feel  that  religion  was  above  my 
scofifing  remarks ;  but  as  I  glanced  at  that  little  face  so 
earnestly  endeavoring  to  read  mine,  and  saw  the  little  maid 
burst  into  uncontrollable  tears,  I  felt  a  certain  shame  that  in 
the  presence  of  one  so  pure  I  should  have  spoken  what  perhaps 
she  had  never  heard  before.  Then  she  looked  at  me  in  a  sort 
of  pitying  way  and  said :  "I  thought  you  loved  my  Jesus !  Oh 
how  could  you  say  that  of  Him  ?"  During  the  rest  of  the  drive 
she  lay  upon  her  father's  bosom  in  perfect  silence,  and  no  one 
spoke. 

The  next  day  I  was  alone  in  my  room,  thinking  of  all  that 
had  occurred,  and  a  strange  and  unaccountable  feeling  of 
seriousness  was  creeping  over  me,  a  sort  of  longing  to  be  like 
her,  when  suddenly  the  little  maid  was  at  my  side.     I  started 


SOIvACE  FOR  BKREAVED  PARENTS.  221 

as  I  saw  her  and  met  that  tender  gaze  of  love  and  pity  which 
she  bent  upon  me.  Her  Httle  hand  was  laid  upon  my  arm, 
and  for  a  moment  both  were  silent.  Then  the  silence  was 
broken  by  the  words,  "Won't  you  love  my  Jesus  ?"  and  she  was 
gone.  /  could  not  ridicule  that  lovely  spirit,  and  yet  some 
demon  within  me  tempted  my  soul  to  do  so.  i  he  next  morn- 
ing, and  the  next,  and  the  next,  the  little  maid  came  in  the 
same  way,  said  the  same  words,  and  disappeared.  I  never 
answered  her,  and  at  no  other  time  did  she  allude  to  the  sub- 
ject ;  but  she  never  failed  to  come  at  that  morning  hour.  One 
morning  I  said  to  her,  almost  unconsciously,  as  she  uttered  her 
never  failing  invitation,  "Tell  me  how,  Bessie."  She  looked 
at  me  a  moment  and  the  next  was  seated  on  my  knee ;  and  the 
words  that  flowed !  Those  simple  childish  words  in  which  she 
told  the  story  of  Christ's  love !  Never,  never  shall  I  forget 
them.  My  eyes  were  far  from  dry  when  she  went  away,  and 
there  was  less  of  sorrow  on  her  face  than  usual.  And  morning 
after  morning  she  came  and  seemed  never  too  weary  of  telling 
the  sweet  tale. 

But  one  morning  she  did  not  come.  I  waited  a  long  time, 
but  in  vain.  No  little  feet  came  pattering  along  the  hall  No 
little  hand  was  clasped  in  mine.  No  words  of  instruction  were 
lisped  in  my  ear!  Presently  there  came  a  hurried  knock  at 
my  door.  It  was  opened  without  waiting  for  permission,  and 
her  father  was  with  me.  "Norman!"  said  he,  "she  has  just 
waked  from  a  long  and  heavy  sleep,  and  is  fearfully  ill.  Will 
you  come?  Tell  me  if  you  know  what  it  is."  I  went.  There 
lay  the  little  one,  with  eyes  closed,  and  in  a  sort  of  stupor.  I 
knew  at  a  glance.  It  was  scarlet  fever!  How  I  told  those 
two  aching  hearts  I  know  not,  but  they  were  wonderfully  calm 
in  their  anguish.  The  doctor  soon  confirmed  my  statement; 
but  there  was  so  painfully  little  to  be  done  for  the  dear  sufferer 
that  those  two  days  almost  passed  by  in  silence  as  we  three 
watched  over  the  precious  form. 

We  knew  from  the  first  that  she  was  no  longer  of  the  earth, 
and  it  was  indeed  a  heavy  burden  for  us  to  bear  to  think  that 
she  would  no  longer  be  the  light  of  our  hearts.  I  say,  we,  for 
though  I  was  perhaps  mistaken,  the  little  one  had  so  taken  pos- 
session of  my  heart,  that  it  seemed  to  me  that  she  could  not 


223  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

be  dearer  to  those  who  had  the  first  earthly  claim  upon  her 
affections. 

At  the  end  of  the  second  day  her  life  seemed  partially  to 
return;  and  she  opened  her  large  beautiful  eyes,  and  smiling 
a  little  said,  "Dear  mamma!  Dear  papa;"  and  then  looking 
around,  "Dear  Uncle  Norman!  Won't  you  love  my  Jesus? 
Mamma  loves  Him  !  Papa  loves  Him !  and  I  am  going  to  Him 
and  want  to  tell  Him  that  yon  love  Him.  Won't  you  love 
Him?" 

"Bessie!  little  Bessie!"  said  I,  "tell  Him  my  heart  and  life 
are  His  forever  more,  and  may  my  soul  some  day  be  as  pure 
and  undefiled  as  hers  who  bears  the  message  to  Him !" 

"Mamma !  Papa !  O  my  Jesus !  I  am  so  happy  now ! 
Now  I  have  all  I  want !  Now  I  come,  come,  come !  Even  so, 
come  Lord  Jesus !"  And  the  little  spirit,  so  pure,  so  holy, 
returned  whence  it  came !  God's  little  messenger  had  fulfilled 
her  mission  to  the  earth,  had  turned  a  soul  to  righteousness, 
and  was  called  home. 

And  now  let  me  present  the  case  of  a  reclaimed  backsHder, 
as  narrated  by  the  Rev.  Richard  Kriell : 

Having  received  ordination  I  found  some  new  services 
demanded  of  me.  The  first  was  to  baptize  a  little  girl  who 
was  supposed  to  be  near  death.  I  refused,  but  afterwards 
.applied  to  the  tutor  for  advice.  "Go,  sir,"  said  the  doctor, 
"and  may  the  Divine  blessing  accompany  you."  On  entering 
the  house,  we  found  the  father  walking  up  and  down  the  room, 
wringing  his  hands,  weeping,  and  saying,  "Oh,  she  will  die ; 
God  is  punishing  me  for  my  sins."  Then,  looking  at  us,  "Are 
you  come  to  baptize  her  ?"  "Yes,  sir,  sit  down ;  compose  your 
mind,  and  let  us  talk  together."  The  mother  was  sitting  with 
the  child  on  her  lap,  intently  looking  on  it,  but  she  never  said 
a  word.  I  began  to  encourage  the  father  with  the  hope  that 
God  would  hear  our  prayers  and  spare  his  child,  and  then  gave 
him  good  advice  how  he  was  to  train  her  for  God.  "Espe- 
cially," said  I,  "let  her  hear  your  voice  in  prayer."  "Stop,"  said 
he,  "stop,  sir;  you  do  not  know  who  I  am."  "No,  sir,"  said 
I,  "but  I  should  be  happy  to  learn."  "We  were  both," 
answered  he,  "members  of  a  church  at  Ryde.  I  led  the  sing- 
ing,  and   conducted  the   prayer   meetings   and   was   a   great 


SOIvACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  223 

professor.  My  wife  would  never  have  consented  to  have  me, 
if  she  had  not  thought  me  a  reHgious  man.  Our  grocery  busi- 
ness was  not  large,  still  we  could  live  comfortably.  But  a  fair 
prospect  offered  here;  we  took  this  house  and  business,  and 
this  was  our  snare.  When  we  first  came,  we  always  closed 
our  shop  on  Saturday  night,  not  to  open  it  again  till  Monday. 
But  our  neighbors  did  much  business  on  the  Sunday;  and  if  a 
ship  came  into  harbor,  and  wanted  supplies,  perhaps  they  got 
more  on  Sunday  than  on  any  day  of  the  week.  This  was  a 
great  temptation  to  us  to  do  the  same;  we  tried  it.  First  we 
opened  the  shop  so  as  to  have  business  over  in  time  to  go  to 
chapel ;  next  it  encroached  so  that  we  could  only  go  out  in  the 
evening;  and  then  our  conscience  became  so  callous  that  we 
left  off  altogether;  and  now,  sir,  God  is  going  to  take  our  child 
to  punish  us."  "Well,"  I  said,  "learn  wisdom  by  the  stroke; 
repent  and  do  thy  first  works.  Begin  from  this  day;  call  in 
your  young  men,  and  have  family  prayer."  "I  cannot." 
"Cannot!"  I  exclaimed.  "Why?"  "Oh,"  said  he,  "they  know 
how  I  used  to  live."  "Well,  if  you  were  not  ashamed  to  serve 
the  devil  in  their  presence,  don't  be  ashamed  to  tell  them  you 
have  changed  masters.  Tell  them  honestly  the  whole  story, 
and  let  them  see  your  sincerity  by  the  change  of  your  deport- 
ment." We  then  went  to  prayer  and  I  baptized  Sophronia  and 
took  leave.  A  few  days  after  I  called  at  the  shop  to  inquire 
for  the  master.  The  servant  said,  "He's  up  stairs."  "Call 
your  master,"  said  I.  The  girl  went  to  the  nursery  to  call 
him,  and  while  she  was  absent,  I  looked  around  and  saw  some 
Bibles  and  hymn  books  on  a  table.  On  her  return  I  said, 
"What  are  all  these  books  placed  here  for?"  "Oh,"  said  she, 
"they  are  books  which  master  uses  for  family  prayers."  So 
he  had  begun. 

In  a  visit  which  my  family  paid  to  the  Isle  of  Wight  in  1836 
they  went  into  a  shop,  and  a  young  person  serving  in  the  shop 
said  to  my  son,  "Your  father  baptized  me."  "Indeed,"  said 
he;  "when  and  where?"  "At  Gosport,  when  he  was  a  student. 
Please  tell  your  father  that  father  became  an  honorable  mem- 
ber of  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  my  mother  died  happy  in  the 
Lord.  But  before  they  died,  they  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
me  also  on  the  Lord's  side." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Stories  and  Letters  That   Illustrate  the  Views   Set 
Forth  in  the  Preceding  Chapters. 

And  blest  are  they,  although  the  heart  new  riv'n 

By  the  keen  stroke  of  suffering,  unrelieved, 

Turns  to  its  wonted  stay,  and  is  bereaved, — 

Yes  blest  are  they  below,  to  whom  'tis  given, 

The  dearest  pledge  which  they  from  Heaven  received. 

Fresh  in  baptismal  drops  to  yield  to  Heaven, 

Ere  soil'd  by  thoughts  of  crime,  or  sin  deceived, 

Or  knowing  evil.     Thus  to  be  forgiv'n. 

And  die,  this  is  the  best  we  know  on  earth  : 

It  is  not  death  to  toil  in  failing  breath 

And  go  away ;  but  in  this  world  beneath 

To  wander  on  from  sin  to  sin,  in  dearth 

Of  all  true  peace,  still  travelling  from  our  birth. 

Further  from  God  and  Heav'n — this,  this  is  death. 

One  evening,  I  had  just  sat  down  to  read,  when  some  person 

knocked  at  the  door,  and  Mr.  entered  to  inform  me  his 

baby,  to  all  appearance,  was  near  death.  Immediately  I  went 
down  stairs,  and  soon  perceived  the  interesting  little  object 
could  not  exist  many  hours.  At  such  a  time,  how  affecting 
was  the  scene !  Parents,  servants,  and  friends  waiting  to  see 
the  change.  Their  thoughts  seemed  called  away  from  every 
thing  earthly.  The  parents  were  wrapt  up  in  the  thought, 
"We  shall  see  our  child  no  more."  I  marked  the  sovereignty 
of  God.  He  does  according  to  His  will,  independently  and 
irresistibly,  without  giving  an  account  of  His  matters  any 
further  than  He  pleases.  He  does  nothing  without  the  best 
reasons,  whether  those  reasons  be  disclosed  to  His  creatures 
or  not.  All  His  pleasure,  all  His  determinations  are  perfectly 
wise  and  good,  founded  on  the  best  of  all  reasons,  and  directed 
to  the  best  purposes.  It  was  very  affecting  to  see  the  approach 
of  death  in  one  so  young.  Her  struggles  were  soon  over.  I 
watched  until  I  fancied  I  saw  the  soul  depart,  but  it  was  a 
spirit.  'Twas  not  flesh.  It  escaped  from  the  body,  and  was  in 
a  moment  translated  and  introduced  to  a  world  of  spirits. 
How  amazing  the  change!  how  incomprehensible!  It  was 
made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels,  now  crowned  with  glory 
and  honour.  It  was  a  wonderful  change,  if  we  only  contem- 
plate its  introduction  to  angels.  At  the  moment  that  soul 
entered  their  presence,  its  faculties  were  enlarged,  its  knowl- 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  225 

edge  increased,  its  mind  expanded  to  a  wonderful  degree.  It 
lives  in  ever-blooming  youth,  highly- favoured,  exalted  and 
happy,  destined  to  survive  and  triumph  v^hen  this  universe  will 
be  destroyed.  It  will  exist  for  ever  and  ever.  That  little 
being  which,  while  in  this  world,  was  incapable  of  employing 
itself,  is  now,  in  its  character,  complete.  It  is  possessed  of 
attributes  divine :  all  these  are  angelic  and  heavenly.  Its 
employments  are  numerous,  and  all  becoming  its  station.  The 
world  could  not  furnish  materials  for  the  composition  of  such 
an  angelic  character.  It  is  perfectly  free  from  fault,  impurity, 
and  defect.  It  has  escaped  all  the  troubles  of  life,  and  will 
never  meet  with  any  thing  that  will  prove  an  alloy.  Its 
pleasures  are  unfading,  and  every  tear  is  wiped  away.  But 
how  astonishing  that  this  little  being  should  be  introduced  into 
the  presence  of  God !  that  Being,  whose  power  can,  in  a 
moment,  crush  the  proudest  monarch,  and  who  possesses  an 
essential  glory  to  which  our  imaginations  cannot  extend,  and 
a  sublimity  of  character  which  is  elevated  above  the  utmost 
stretch  of  thought.  But  when  He  took  upon  Himself  our 
nature,  and  lived  in  our  world.  He  said,  "Suffer  little  children 
to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of  such  is  the  king- 
dom of  heaven."  She  dwells  in  His  presence,  is  near  His 
throne,  and  sits  at  His  feet.  Increasing  praises  dwell  upon 
her  lips;  boundless  perfection  constitutes  her  felicity.  Her 
holiness  is  for  ever  perfected.  Her  affections  are  made  to 
flow  in  ever-during  channels  towards  the  source  of  infinite 
perfection.  Her  knowledge  is  expanded  beyond  the  highest 
conception.  The  sources  of  it  are  ever  widening,  ever  increas- 
ing. The  light  of  heaven  irradiates  her,  and  its  splendours 
delight  her  soul.  Her  vision  is  unclouded,  and  penetrates  the 
deep  things  of  God.  A  short  time  ago,  she  was  a  sufferer 
here;  now,  she  is  a  rejoicing  spirit.  She  has  attained  to  fuller 
powers  than  she  could  have  done  in  this  world,  had  she  been 
possessed  of  the  greatest  wisdom  and  the  talents  of  the  most 
accomplished  individual  that  ever  sojourned  here.  She  pos- 
sesses unbounded  freedom,  and  delights  in  executing  the 
Divine  will.  See  her  amongst  the  glorious  throng,  now  bend- 
ing in  holy  adoration  before  the  Majesty  of  heaven,  and  now 
a  commissioned  messenger  to  far  distant  worlds. 

15— Vol.  X. 


226  solace;  for  bereaved  parents. 

A'ly  thoughts  were  lost  in  the  boundless  track,  and  earth 
seemed  too  polluted  to  mingle  again  in  its  low  pursuits. 

No  ;  if  I  could,  I  would  not  call  her  down. 

Through  glass  of  faith  I  plainly  see 
That  she  is  happier  far  than  me. 
Her  golden  harp  she  tunes  so  sweet, 
While  sitting  at  her  Saviour's  feet, 
That  I  should  like  to  go  and  hear, 
I  sometimes  think,  and  shed  a  tear,— 
No  tear  of  sorrow,  but  of  joy, — 
The  hymns  that  now  my  child  employ. 
Angels  do  sit  and  listen  round, 
I  make  no  doubt,  to  catch  the  sound. 
And  every  voice  in  chorus  raise. 
To  sound  the  great  Redeemer's  praise. 


A  child  sat  in  the  door  of  a  cottage  at  the  close  of  a  summer 
Sabbath.  The  twilight  was  fading,  and  as  the  shades  of  even- 
ing darkened,  one  after  another  of  the  stars  stood  in  the  sky, 
and  looked  down  on  the  child  in  his  thoughtful  mood.  He  was 
looking  up  at  the  stars  and  counting  them  as  they  came,  till 
they  were  too  many  to  be  counted,  and  his  eyes  wandered  all 
over  the  heavens,  watching  the  bright  worlds  above.  They 
seemed  just  like  "holes  in  the  floor  of  heaven  to  let  the  glory 
through,"  but  he  knew  better.  Yet  he  loved  to  look  up  there, 
and  was  so  absorbed,  that  his  mother  called  to  him  and  said : 

"My  son,  what  are  you  thinking  of?" 

He  started  as  if  suddenly  aroused  from  sleep,  and  answered: 

"I  was  thinking — " 

"Yes,"  said  his  mother,  "I  know  you  were  thinking,  but  what 
were  you  thinking  about?" 

"O,"  said  he,  and  his  little  eyes  sparkled  with  the  thought, 
"/  zvant  to  be  an  ajigel." 

"And  v»'hy,  my  son,  would  you  be  an  angel  ?" 

"Heaven  is  up  there,  is  it  not,  mother?  and  there  the  angels 
live  and  love  God,  and  are  happy ;  I  do  wish  T  was  good  and 
God  would  take  me  there,  and  let  me  wait  on  Him  forever." 

The  mother  called  him  to  her  knee,  and  he  leaned  on  her 
bosom  and  wept.  She  wept  too,  and  smoothed  the  soft  hair 
of  his  head  as  he  stood  there,  and  kissed  his  forehead,  and 
then  told  him  that  if  he  would  give  his  heart  to  God,  now  while 
he  was  young,  the  Saviour  would  forgive  all  his  sins  and  take 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  227 

him  to  heaven  when  he  died,  and  he  would  then  be  with  God 
forever. 

His  young  heart  was  comforted.  He  knelt  at  his  mother's 
side  and  said : 

"Jesus,   Saviour,    Son  of  God, 
Wash  me  in  Thy  precious  blood  ; 
I  Thy  little  lamb  would  be — 
Help  me.  Lord,  to  look  to  thee." 

The  mother  took  the  young  child  to  his  chamber,  and  soon 
he  was  asleep,  dreaming  perhaps  of  angels  and  heaven.  A 
few  months  afterwards  sickness  was  on  him,  and  the  light  of 
that  cottage,  the  joy  of  that  mother's  heart,  went  out.  He 
breathed  his  last  in  her  arms,  and  as  he  took  her  parting  kiss, 
he  whispered  in  her  ear : 

"I  am  going  to  be  an  angel." 

This  is  a  very  simple  story,  and  it  is  just  the  way  I  have  felt 
a  thousand  times.  I  have  looked  at  the  heavens,  and  given 
up  to  the  child's  thought  that  there  are  the  blest ;  I  have  wished 
that  I  might  be  one  of  their  company ;  done  with  sin ;  and  a 
bright  career  of  holiness  and  glory  begun,  to  be  ended  never. 

And  it  looks  so  lovely  there  where  God  is,  and  the  sunshine 
of  His  smile  beams  with  matchless  radiance  on  every  heart, 
and  love  reigns  through  the  realms  of  glory,  and  each  strives 
to  see  which  shall  do  the  most  for  each  other's  bliss,  that  my 
heart  goes  there  as  to  a  resting-place,  where  sorrow  cannot 
enter,  and  joy  flows  perennially  from  every  soul. 

I  feel  at  such  times  just  like  the  child  in  the  cottage  door; 
just  like  the  man  of  old,  who  sighed  for  the  wings  of  a  dove 
that  he  might  fly  away. 

Yet,  were  it  not  for  sin,  this  would  be  as  bright  and  fair  a 
world  as  that.  God  would  be  here  as  when  in  the  morning  of 
its  being  He  walked  in  the  garden  with  His  friend,  and  smiled 
on  him  with  parental  love.  The  angels  would  be  here,  our 
companions  and  guides.  Earth  would  be  heaven,  paradise  as 
it  was  when  sin  was  not. 

Then  to  be  happy  here,  we  must  be  holy.  And  the  holier 
we  are,  the  happier.  And  when  we  are  released  from  sin,  and 
by  the  merits  and  mercy  of  the  Saviour,  are  introduced  to  the 
courts  above,  we  shall  be  as  the  angels,  holy,  happy,  rejoicing 
always  with  God. 


228  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

LETTER  EROM  DR.  WATTS  TO  MADAM   SEWEEE,  UPON  THE  DEATH 
OF  HER  CHILDREN. 

Have  you  lost  two  lovely  children?  Did  you  make  them 
your  idols?  If  you  did,  God  has  saved  you  from  idolatry.  If 
you  did  not,  you  have  your  God  still,  and  a  creature  cannot  be 
miserable  who  has  a  God.  The  little  words  "My  God"  have 
infinitely  more  sweetness  than  "my  sons"  or  "my  daughters." 
Were  they  very  desirable  blessings?  Your  God  calls  you  to 
the  nobler  sacrifice.  Can  you  give  up  these  to  Him  at  His 
call  ?  So  was  Isaac,  when  Abraham  was  required  to  part  with 
him  at  God's  altar.  Are  you  not  a  daughter  of  Abraham? 
Then  imitate  his  faith,  his  self-denial,  his  obedience,  and  make 
your  evidences  of  such  a  spiritual  relation  to  him  shine  brighter 
on  this  solemn  occasion.  Has  God  taken  them  from  your 
arms?  And  had  you  not  given  them  to  God  before?  Had 
you  not  devoted  them  to  Him  in  baptism  ?  Are  you  displeased 
that  God  calls  for  His  own?  Was  not  your  heart  sincere  in 
the  resignation  of  them  to  Him?  Show  then,  madam,  the  sin- 
cerity of  your  heart  in  leaving  them  in  the  hand  of  God.  Do 
you  say,  they  are  lost?  Not  out  of  God's  sight,  and  God's 
world,  though  they  are  gone  out  of  your  sight  and  our  world. 
"All  live  to  God."  You  may  hope  the  spreading  covenant  of 
grace  has  sheltered  them  from  the  second  death.  They  live, 
though  not  with  you. 

Are  you  ready  to  complain,  you  have  brought  forth  for  the 
grave?  It  may  be  so,  but  not  in  vain.  Is.  Ixv.  25.  "They 
shall  not  labour  in  vain,  nor  bring  forth  for  trouble  (i.  e.  for 
sorrow  without  hope)  ;  for  they  are  the  seed  of  the  blessed  of 
the  Lord,  and  their  offspring  with  them."  This  has  been  a 
sweet  text  to  many  a  mother,  when  their  children  are  called 
away  betimes.  And  the  prophet  Jeremy,  ch.  xxxi.  15,  17,  has 
very  comfortable  words  to  allay  the  same  sorrows.  Did  you 
please  yourself  in  what  comforts  you  might  have  derived  from 
them  in  maturer  years?  But,  madam,  do  you  consider  suffi- 
ciently, that  God  has  taken  them  away  from  the  evil  to  come, 
and  hid  them  in  the  grave  from  the  prevailing  and  mischievous 
temptations  of  a  degenerate  age?  My  brother's  wife,  in 
London,  has  buried  seven  or  eight  children,  and  among  them, 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  229 

all  her  sons.  This  thought  has  reconciled  her  to  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  that  the  temptations  of  young  men  in  this  age 
are  so  exceedingly  great,  and  she  has  seen  so  many  of  the 
young  gentlemen  of  her  acquaintance  so  shamefully  degener- 
ate, that  she  wipes  her  tears  for  the  sons  she  has  buried,  and 
composes  her  soul  to  patience  and  thankfulness,  with  one  only 
daughter  remaining.  Perhaps  God  has  by  this  stroke  pre- 
vented a  thousand  unknown  sorrows.  Are  your  sons  dead? 
But  are  all  your  mercies  dead  too?  Food,  raiment,  safety, 
peace,  liberty  of  religion,  access  to  the  mercy  seat,  hope  of 
heaven ;  all  these  are  daily  matters  of  thankfulness.  Good 
madam,  let  not  one  sorrow  bury  them  all.  Show  that  you  are 
a  Christian,  by  making  it  to  appear,  that  religion  has  supports 
in  it  which  the  world  doth  not  know.  What  can  a  poor  world- 
ling do,  but  mourn  over  earthly  blessings  departed,  and  gone 
down  with  them  comfortless  to  the  grave?  But  methinks  a 
Christian  should  lift  up  his  head,  as  partaking  of  higher  hopes. 
May  the  blessed  Spirit  be  your  comfort,  madam.  Endeavour 
to  employ  yourself  in  some  business  or  employment  of  life 
continually,  lest  a  solitary  and  inactive  frame  of  mind  tempt 
you  to  sit  brooding  over  your  sorrows,  and  nurse  them  to  a 
dangerous  size.  Turn  your  thoughts  often  to  the  brighter 
scenes  of  heaven  and  the  resurrection. 

Forgive  the  freedom  of  a  stranger,  madam,  who  desires  to 
be  the  humble  and  faithful  servant  of  Christ  and  souls. 

Isaac  Watts. 


FROM  DR.  DODDRIDGE. 

Could  I  wish  that  this  young  inhabitant  of  heaven  should  be 
degraded  to  earth  again  ?  Or  would  it  thank  me  for  that  wish  ? 
Would  it  say,  that  it  was  the  part  of  a  wise  parent,  to  call  it 
down  from  a  sphere  of  such  exalted  services  and  pleasures, 
to  our  low  life  here  upon  earth?  Let  me  rather  be  thankful 
for  the  pleasing  hope,  that  though  God  loves  my  child  too  well 
to  permit  it  to  return  to  me.  He  will  ere  long  bring  me  to  it. 
And  then  that  endeared  paternal  affection,  which  would  have 
been  a  cord  to  tie  me  to  earth,  and  have  added  new  pangs  to 
my  removal  from  it,  will  be  as  a  golden  chain  to  draw  me 


230  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

upwards,  and  add  one  farther  charm  and  joy  even  to  paradise 
itself.  And  oh,  how  great  a  joy!  to  view  the  change,  and  to 
compare  that  dear  idea,  so  fondly  laid  up,  so  often  reviewed, 
with  the  now  glorious  original,  in  the  improvement  of  the 
upper  world!  To  borrow  the  words  of  the  sacred  writer,  in 
a  very  different  sense :  '7  said  I  was  desolate  and  bereaved  of 
children,  and  who  hath  brought  up  these F  I  was  left  alone, 
and  these  where  have  they  been?*  Was  this  my  desolation? 
this  my  sorrow  ?  to  part  with  thee  for  a  few  days,  That  I  might 
receive  thee  for  ever,'\  and  find  thee  what  thou  art?"  It  is 
for  no  language,  but  that  of  heaven,  to  describe  the  sacred  joy 
which  such  a  meeting  must  occasion. 

In  the  meantime,  Christians,  let  us  keep  the  lively  expecta- 
tion of  it,  and  let  what  has  befallen  us  draw  our  thoughts  to 
heaven.  Perhaps  they  will  sometimes,  before  we  are  aware, 
sink  to  the  grave,  and  dwell  in  the  tombs  that  contain  the  poor 
remains  of  what  was  once  so  dear  to  us.  But  let  them  take 
flight  from  thence  to  more  noble,  more  delightful  scenes.  And 
I  will  add,  let  the  hope  we  have  of  the  happiness  of  our  chil- 
dren render  God  still  dearer  to  our  souls.  We  feel  a  very 
tender  sense  of  the  kindness  which  our  friends  expressed 
towards  them,  and  think,  indeed,  very  justly,  that  their  affec- 
tionate care  for  them  lays  a  lasting  obligation  upon  us.  What 
love  then,  and  what  service  do  we  owe  to  thee,  oh  gracious 
Father,  who  hast,  we  hope,  received  them  into  thine  house 
above,  and  art  now  entertaining  them  there  with  unknown 
delight,  though  our  former  methods  of  commerce  with  them 
be  cut  off!  "Lord,"  should  each  of  us  say  in  such  a  case,  "I 
would  take  what  thou  art  doing  to  my  child  as  done  to  myself, 
and  as  a  specimen  and  earnest  of  what  shall  shortly  be  done." 
It  is  therefore  well. 


THE  REGENERATION  OF  INFANTS. 

By  James  Buchanan,  D.  D.X 
Dr.  Buchanan  shows  the  doctrine  of  the  Confession  of  Faith 
on  the  subject  of  regeneration,  of  its  absolute  necessity  to  all 

*Isa.  xlix.  21.  tPhilem.  ver.  15. 

tOf  the  Free  Church  of   Scotland,  in  his  Work  on  the  Office  and  Work 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.     Part  I.,  ch.  viii.     Edinburgh,  1842. 


SOI.ACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  231 

men,  including  infants;  that  it  is  not  baptism,  nor  necessarily 
connected  with  it,  although  baptism  is  its  sign  seal,  and  when 
God  pleases,  its  means;  and  that  infants  are  capable  of  being 
regenerated.  He  then  lays  down  the  position  that  children, 
however  young,  even  infants  in  their  mothers'  arms,  are  fit 
and  capable  subjects  of  divine  grace,  may  be  evinced  by  various 
considerations.  Several  of  these  considerations  afiford  a  pre- 
sumption in  favour  of  the  expectation  that  some  provision 
would  be  made  in  the  scheme  of  grace  on  their  behalf ;  while 
others  of  them  afford  a  positive  proof  that  such  a  provision 
exists,  and  is  available  for  their  benefit.    *    *    * 

The  positive  proof  on  the  subject  will  be  found  to  afford 
ample  evidence  for  affirming  that  in  the  actual  scheme  of  grace, 
provision  has  been  made  for  the  case  of  infants,  and  that  they 
are  fit  and  capable  subjects  of  the  Gospel  salvation. 

That  proof  consists  chiefly,  (1)  in  express  doctrinal  state- 
ments on  the  subject;  (2)  in  recorded  instances  of  sanctified 
infancy;  (3)  in  the  analog}'  of  the  typical  dispensation;  and 
(4)  in  the  ordinance  of  baptism,  as  applicable  to  infants  in 
the  Christian  church.     *    *    * 

On  these  grounds,  I  think  it  must  be  evident  that  infant 
children  are  fit  and  capable  subjects  of  divine  grace,  and  that 
they  are  included  in  the  covenant  of  redemption.  It  may  be 
difficult  for  us  to  understand  in  what  way  the  Spirit  of  God 
operates  on  their  minds,  or  through  what  medium  they  obtain 
a  participation  of  the  blessings  of  salvation,  which  are  said -to 
be  "by  faith."  The  regeneration  of  infants  may  be  ascribed 
to  a  direct  operation  of  the  Spirit  on  their  minds,  and  in  this 
respect  may  be  said  to  resemble  what  is  supposed  to  be  in 
every  case  the  primary  influence  of  the  Spirit,  under  which  the 
soul  is  passive,  and  by  which,  without  the  intervention  of  any 
instrumentality,  he  effects  a  permanent  change,  "predisposing 
it  to  receive,  and  love,  and  obey  the  truth. "§  By  this  direct 
operation  He  may  implant  that  principle  of  grace  which  is 
the  germ  of  the  new  creature, — that  incorruptible  seed,  which 
may  lie  long  under  the  furrow,  but  will  sooner  or  later  spring 
up,  and  produce  the  peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness.  Our 
older  divines  were  wont  to  distinguish  between  the  principle 

§  Lectures  by  Dr.  Payne  of  Exeter,  338,  357. 


333  SOLACli  FOR  BCRKAVeo  PARENTS. 

or  habit  of  grace,  and  the  exercise  of  grace;**  and  to  maintain 
that  the  principle  might  exist  in  children  who  were  as  yet 
incapable  of  the  exercise,  and  that  grace  in  such  was  real  and 
saving.fy  It  may  be  generally  connected,  too,  with  the  faith 
of  the  parent,  in  whom,  during  the  period  of  non-age,  the 
infant  is  federally  included4$  But  it  is  sufificient  to  say  in 
the  language  of  the  Westminster  Confession,  that  "they  are 
regenerated  and  saved  by  Christ  through  the  Spirit,  who  work- 
eth  when,  and  where,  and  how  He  pleaseth," — "for  the  wind 
bloweth  where  it  listeth,  and  thou  canst  not  tell  whence  it 
cometh,  nor  whither  it  goeth :  so  is  every  one  that  is  born  of 
the  Spirit."  And  to  him  who  objects  to  the  regeneration  of 
infants  on  the  ground  of  its  mysteriousness,  may  we  not  say, 
that  the  natural  birth  of  a  child  is  full  of  mystery :  "I  am  fear- 
fully and  wonderfully  made :  marvellous  are  thy  works,  and 
that  my  soul  knoweth  right  well.  My  substance  was  not  hid 
from  thee  when  I  was  made  in  secret,  and  curiously  wrought 
in  the  lowest  parts  of  the  earth.  Thine  eyes  did  see  my  sub- 
stance, yet  being  imperfect ;  and  in  thy  book  all  my  members 
were  written,  which  in  continuance  were  fashioned,  when  as 
yet  there  was  none  of  them ;" — and  in  the  Preacher's  words, 
"as  thou  knowest  not  what  is  the  way  of  the  Spirit,  nor  how 
the  bones  do  grow  in  the  womb  of  her  that  is  with  child,  even 
so  thou  knowest  not  the  works  of  God  who  maketh  all." 


A  LETTER  FROM   A  CPIILD  IN   HEAVEN. 

By  Dr.  Pye. 

I  cannot  in  a  better  manner  express  my  thoughts  than  by 
quoting  the  following  lines,  which  I  wrote,  a  few  days  after 
the  death  of  our  two  children,  for  the  use  of  my  then  mourning 
wife  and  myself.  You  may  call  it  a  short  letter  from  my  dear 
girl  to  us,  just  after  she  ceased  to  breathe,  and  a  little  before 
her  brother's  death. 

"Your  tender  care  and  fond,  though  rational  love  of  all  your 
children,  with  your  agonies  of  grief  under  the  apprehension 

**Dr.  Owen,  ii.  283,  482,  492. 

ttlbid.  ii.  413. 

JtHomilies  on  Baptism,  by  Rev.  Edward  Irving,  346,  349. 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  233 

of  parting  with  me  and  my  dear  brother,  are  the  most  con- 
vincing proofs  of  the  reahty  and  greatness  of  your  sorrow, 
now  that  I  am  gone,  and  he  is  just  upon  the  wing  to  follow 
me  to  the  unknown  world.  But  it  was  He  who  made  us  that 
called  us  away,  and  we  cheerfully  obeyed  the  summons :  and  I 
must  now  tell  you,  though  you  both  already  know  it,  that  He 
expects  from  you,  not  only  that  you  meekly  and  calmly  submit 
to  such  a  seemingly  severe  dispensation  of  His  providence, 
but  that  you  also  rejoice  with  me  in  it,  because  it  is  the  will 
and  pleasure  of  our  divine  Father. 

"I,  young  as  I  was,  am  now  become  an  inhabitant  of  heaven, 
and  already  see  the  beauty  and  harmony  of  that  little  chain  of 
events,  which  related  to  my  short  abode  in  your  world,  and 
even  the  manner  of  my  leaving  it :  and  when  you  see  the  things 
as  they  really  are,  and  not  as  they  may  now  appear,  you  will 
confess  and  adore  the  goodness,  even  in  taking  us  so  soon  from 
your  embraces. 

"God,  who  has  made  all  things  for  the  manifestation  of  His 
adorable  perfections,  gave  us  our  being  from  you;  adore  Him 
therefore  for  His  goodness,  in  making  use  of  you  as  instru- 
ments, in  the  course  of  events,  to  usher  us  into  the  world. 
Ask  not  why  He  so  early  removed  us ;  we  sufficiently  answered 
the  great  end  of  our  being,  if,  while  living  at  the  same  time 
that  we  gave  our  pleasure,  you  were  disposed  to  lead  us,  by 
your  examples  and  precepts,  into  the  paths  of  virtue  and 
religion;  and  if  now,  by  the  loss  of  us,  you  become  examples 
of  patience  and  submission  to  the  Divine  will,  which,  next  to 
doing  the  will  of  God,  are  virtues  which  bear  the  greatest  name 
in  our  world. 

"Let,  therefore,  all  the  little  incidents  in  our  past  lives,  the 
remembrance  of  which  are  too  apt  to  renew  your  sorrow,  be 
so  many  occasions  of  your  joy:  inasmuch  as  they  may  recall 
the  pleasant  ideas  you  once  delighted  in,  and  to  let  the  dis- 
maying and  melancholy  remembrance  of  our  sickness  and  early 
death,  be  changed  into  cheering  and  bright  ideas  of  what  we 
now  enjoy;  and  what  you,  I  hope,  will  one  day  see  us  in  pos- 
session of." 


234  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

LETTER  OF  DR.  J.  M.  MASON.* 

Again  in  the  furnace,  my  brother !  Again  lamenting  under 
the  chastenings  of  God !  My  heart  bleeds  with  yours,  I  pour 
out  my  tears  and  supplications  that  this  new  and  sore  visiting 
may  be  blessed,  and  may  afterwards  yield  the  peaceable  fruits 
of  righteousness.  It  shall  be  so.  It  is  so,  in  some  measure, 
already.  Whatever  brings  us  to  the  feet  of  our  Redeemer, 
does  us  good.  He  is  the  physician,  and  He  knows  best  how 
to  make  up  the  prescription,  and  how  to  administer  it.  He 
has  taken  away  your  boy,  but  not  Himself,  nor  His  loving 
kindnesses.  He  has  shown  you  the  rod,  but  not  the  evil  it  has 
avoided.  He  has  made  you  to  smart  under  the  stroke,  but  it 
is,  probably,  a  substitute  for  some  blow  unspeakably  more 
awful,  and  perhaps  nigh  at  hand  when  He  smote  you,  but  now 
turned  aside  forever.  We  must  live  by  faith,  my  brother. 
Our  comforts  must  not  be  our  gods.  Our  souls  have  neither 
purity  nor  peace,  nor  establishment,  nor  victory,  but  in  propor- 
tion as  our  fellowship  is  with  the  Lord  our  life,  and  our  life- 
giving  head.  O,  for  that  habitual  nearness  to  Him  which  shall 
keep  in  constant  and  gracious  dependence  upon  His  word  of 
truth,  which  He  has  promised  never  to  take  utterly  from  us. 
The  further  the  creature  removes  from  us,  the  more  desirable 
and  consoling  is  our  walking  with  Him  who,  when  we  are 
overwhelmed,  knows  our  path. 


TO  A  BEREAVED  PARENT. 

Brskine. 

I  cannot,  I  dare  not  say,  weep  not.  Jesus  wept  at  the  grave 
of  La:^arus,  and  surely  He  allows  you  to  weep;  surely  there 
is  a  "needs  be"  that  you  feel  a  heaviness  under  such  a  trial. 
But  O,  let  hope  and  joy  mitigate  your  heaviness.  I  knov/  not 
how  this,  or  a  former  trial,  shall  work  for  your  good,  but  it 
is  enough  that  God  knows.  He  that  said,  "All  things  shall 
work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God,"  excepts  not 
from  this  promise  the  sorest  trial.  You  devoted  your  son  to 
God;  you  cannot  doubt  that  He  accepted  the  surrender.     If 

*From  the  New  York  Observer. 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  335 

he  has  been  hid  in  the  chamber  of  the  grave  from  the  evil  of 
sin,  and  from  the  evil  of  suffering,  let  not  your  eye  be  evil, 
when  God  is  good.  What  you  chiefly  wished  for  him,  and 
prayed  on  his  behalf,  was  spiritual  and  heavenly  blessings.  If 
the  greatest  thing  you  wished  for  is  accomplished  and  in  the 
manner  Infinite  Wisdom  saw  best,  refuse  not  to  be  comforted ; 
you  know  not  what  work  and  joy  have  been  waiting  for  him  in 
that  world,  where  God's  "servants  shall  serve  him."  Should 
you  sorrow  immoderately  when  you  have  such  ground  of  hope 
that  he,  and  his  other  parent  are  rejoicing  in  what  you  lament? 
I  know  that  nature  \wi\\  feel ;  and  I  believe  suppressing  its 
emotions  in  such  cases  is  not  profitable,  either  to  soul  or  body ; 
but  I  trust,  though  you  mourn,  God  will  keep  you  from  mur- 
muring, and  that  you  shall  have  to  glory  in  your  tribulation 
and  infirmity,  while  the  power  of  Christ  is  manifested  thereby. 
Unhappy  one !  thou  callest  in  vain  unto  the  dead  to  awake. 
The  sleep  of  the  body  is  dreamless  and  eternal.  Cold  and 
white  as  the  marble  is  that  face  of  beauty :  as  still  that  breast 
which  heaves  with  deep  affection.  Turn  to  the  heavenly 
Helper !  Between  God  and  thee  was  her  love  divided.  O  flee 
to  Him  in  thy  sorrow,  and  He  will  give  thee  consolation.  He 
Himself  hath  drunk  of  every  cup  of  bitterness :  He  will  have 
sympathy  with  thee  in  thy  anguish ;  He  will  heal  thy  broken 
heart. 


ROBERT   HAEE,  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  HIS  CHILD. 

I  am  greatly  obliged  for  your  kind  and  consolatory  letter 
replete  with  those  topics  whence  alone  true  consolation  can  be 
deduced.  The  stroke  has  been  very  severely  felt  by  us  both, 
but  certainly  most  by  dear  Mrs.  Hall.  She  was  dotingly  fond 
of  our  lovely  boy.  For  my  own  part,  I  was  not  at  all  aware 
my  affection  for  him  was  so  strong,  until  he  was  removed  from 
us ;  my  anguish  was  then  great.  It  seemed  to  me  as.  if  I  felt 
more  on  this  occasion,  than  I  should  at  the  loss  of  either  of  my 
others.  This  feeling,  I  suspect,  was  delusive,  and  arises  from 
our  being  incapable  of  estimating  the  strength  of  our  attach- 
ment to  any  object  until  it  is  removed.  I  was  disappointed 
in  his  being  a  boy ;  for  recollecting  my  own  extreme  and  por- 


236  solace;  for  bereaved  parents. 

tentous  wickedness,  I  fancied  there  was  something  in  the  con- 
stitution of  boys  pecuHarly  tending  to  vice,  and  adverse  to  their 
spiritual  interests.  I  had  also  remarked  that  females  seemed 
much  more  susceptible  of  religious  impressions  than  men.  On 
these  accounts  I  trembled  for  his  salvation,  and  did  not  feel 
that  gratitude  for  the  blessing  vouchsafed  me,  which  I  ought. 
I  suspect  I  greatly  displeased  God  by  my  distrust  of  His  good- 
ness, and  that  He  saw  it  meet  to  adopt  this  method  of  chas- 
tising me.  May  it  be  sanctified  as  a  means  of  making  me 
humble,  heavenly,  and  submissive.  It  is  a  very  solemn  consid- 
eration, that  a  part  of  myself  is  in  eternity,  in  the  presence,  I 
trust,  of  the  Saviour.  How  awful  will  it  be,  should  the  branch 
be  saved,  and  the  stock  perish  ! 

Pray  for  me,  my  dear  friend,  that  this  may  not  be  the  case ; 
but  that  I  may  be  truly  sanctified,  and  permitted  to  walk  in  the 
fear  of  the  Lord,  and  in  the  consolations  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 


ANOTHER  LETTER  OF  ROBERT  HALL. 

I  sincerely  sympathize  with  you  in  the  loss  of  your  child; 
but,  my  dear  friend,  do  not  sufifer  your  spirits  to  sink. 
Remember  the  tenure  on  which  all  human  enjoyments  are  held, 
the  wisdom  and  sovereignty  of  their  great  Author,  and  the 
gracious  promise  afiforded  to  true  Christians,  that  "all  things 
shall  work  together  for  good,  to  them  that  love  Him." 

Remember,  also,  the  many  blessings  with  which  a  kind 
Providence  still  indulges  you.  Ought  you  not  to  rejoice,  that 
your  affectionate  companion  in  life  is  spared ;  and  that,  though 
your  child  is  snatched  from  your  embraces,  he  has  escaped 
from  a  world  of  sin  and  sorrow?  The  stamp  of  immortality 
is  placed  on  his  happiness,  and  he  is  encircled  by  the  arms  of 
a  compassionate  Redeemer.  Had  he  been  permitted  to  live, 
and  you  had  witnessed  the  loss  of  his  virtue,  you  might  have 
been  reserved  to  suffer  still  severer  pangs.  A  most  excellent 
family,  in  our  congregation,  are  now  melancholy  spectators  of 
a  son  dying,  at  nineteen  years  of  age,  by  inches,  a  victim  to  his 
vices.  They  have  frequently  regretted  he  did  not  die  several 
years  since,  when  his  life  was  nearly  despaired  of  in  a  severe 


SOIvACE  I^OR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  237 

fever.     "Who  knoweth  what  is  good  for  a  man  all  the  days 
of  this,  his  vain  life,  which  he  spends  as  a  shadow?" 


FEAVEL  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  INFANTS. 

Mourner,  whatever  may  be  your  grief  for  the  death  of  your 
children,  it  might  have  been  still  greater  for  their  life.  Bitter 
experience  once  led  a  good  man  to  say,  "It  is  better  to  weep 
for  ten  children  dead,  than  for  one  living."  Remember  the 
heart-piercing  affliction  of  David,  whose  son  sought  his  life. 
Your  love  for  your  children  will  hardly  admit  of  the  thought 
of  such  a  thing  as  possible,  in  your  own  case.  They  appeared 
innocent  and  amiable;  and  you  fondly  believed,  that  through 
vour  care  and  prayers,  they  would  have  become  the  joy  of  your 
hearts.  But  may  not  Esau,  when  a  child,  have  promised  as 
much  comfort  to  his  parents  as  Jacob?  Probably  he  had  as 
many  of  their  prayers  and  counsels.  But  as  years  advanced, 
he  despised  their  admonitions,  and  filled  their  hearts  with  grief. 
As  a  promoter  of  family  religion,  who  ever  received  such  an 
encomium  from  the  God  of  heaven  as  Abraham?  How  ten- 
derly did  the  good  man  pray  for  Ishmael !  "O  that  Ishmael 
might  live  before  thee !"  Yet  how  little  comfort  did  Ishmael 
afford. 

Alas !  in  these  days  of  degeneracy,  parents  much  more  fre- 
quently witness  the  vices  of  their  children  than  their  virtues. 
And  even  should  your  children  prove  amiable  and  promising, 
you  might  live  to  be  the  wretched  witness  of  their  sufferings. 
Some  parents  have  felt  unutterable  agonies  of  this  kind. 

God  may  have  taken  the  lamented  objects  of  your  affection 
from  the  evil  to  come.  When  extraordinary  calamities  are 
coming  on  the  world.  He  frequently  hides  some  of  His  feebler 
children  in  the  grave.  Surely,  at  such  a  portentous  period,  it 
is  happier  for  such  as  are  prepared,  to  be  lodged  in  that  peace- 
ful mansion,  than  to  be  exposed  to  calamities  and  distresses 
here.  Thus  intimates  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  "Weep  not  for 
the  dead,  neither  bemoan  him ;  but  weep  sore  for  him  that 
goeth  away ;  for  he  shall  return  no  more,  nor  see  his  native 
country."  It  was  in  a  day  when  the  faith  and  patience  of  the 
saints  were  peculiarly  tried,  that  the  voice  from  heaven  said, 


238  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

"Write,  blessed  are  the  dead,  which  die  in  the  Lord,  from 
henceforth." 


THOMAS  CHALMERS,  ON  THE  INFANT  IN  HEAVEN. 

The  following  beautiful  passage  from  the  writings  of  Dr. 
Chalmers  may  comfort  many  a  sorrowing  mother,  as  she  weeps 
over  the  grave  of  her  infant  babe. 

This  affords,  we  think,  something  more  than  a  dubious 
glimpse  into  the  question,  that  is  often  put  by  a  distracted 
mother  when  the  babe  is  taken  away  from  her — when  all  the 
converse  it  ever  had  with  the  world,  amounted  to  the  gaze 
upon  it  of  a  few  months,  or  a  few  opening  smiles,  which 
marked  the  dawn  of  felt  enjoyment ;  and  ere  it  reached  perhaps 
the  lisp  of  infancy,  it,  all  unconscious  of  death,  had  to  wrestle 
through  a  period  of  sickness  with  its  power,  and  at  length  to 
be  overcome  by  it.  Oh !  it  little  knew  what  an  interest  it  had 
created  in  that  home  where  it  was  so  passing  a  visitant — nor, 
when  carried  to  its  early  grave,  what  a  tide  of  emotion  it  would 
raise  among  the  few  acquaintances  it  left  behind  it!  On  it, 
too,  baptism  was  impressed  as  a  seal :  and,  as  a  sign,  it  was 
never  falsified.  There  was  no  positive  unbelief  in  its  bosom; 
no  resistance  yet  put  forth  to  the  truth ;  no  love  at  all  for  the 
darkness  rather  than  the  light ;  nor  had  it  yet  fallen  into  that 
great  condemnation  which  will  attach  itself  to  all  that  perish 
because  of  unbelief,  that  their  deeds  are  evil.  It  is  interesting 
to  know  that  God  instituted  circumcision  for  the  infant  chil- 
dren of  those  who  profess  Christianity.  Should  the  child  die 
in  infancy,  the  use  of  baptism,  as  a  sign,  has  never  been 
thwarted  by  it ;  and  may  we  not  be  permitted  to  indulge  a  hope 
so  pleasing,  as  that  the  use  of  baptism  as  a  seal  remains  in  all 
its  entireness;  that  He,  who  sanctioned  the  affixing  of  it  to  a 
babe,  will  fulfill  upon  it  the  whole  expression  of  this  ordi- 
nance. And  when  we  couple  with  this  the  known  disposition 
of  our  great  Forerunner,  the  love  that  He  manifested  to  chil- 
dren on  earth,  how  He  suffered  them  to  approach  His  person, 
and  lavishing  endearments  and  kindness  upon  them  in  the 
streets  of  Jerusalem,  told  His  disciples,  that  the  presence  and 
company  of  such  as  these  in  heaven  formed  one  ingredient  of 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  239 

the  joy  that  was  set  before  Him;  tell  us  if  Christianity  does 
not  throw  a  pleasing  radiance  around  an  infant's  tomb?  and 
should  any  parent  who  hears  us,  feel  siofitenecl  by  the  touching 
remembrance  of  a  light  that  twinkled  a  few  short  months 
under  his  roof,  and  at  the  end  of  its  little  period  expired,  we 
cannot  think  that  we  venture  too  far,  when  we  say,  that  he 
has  only  to  persevere  in  the  faith,  and  in  the  following  of  the 
gospel,  and  that  very  light  will  again  shine  upon  him  in  heaven. 
The  blossom  which  withered  here  upon  its  stalk,  has  been 
transplanted  there  to  a  place  of  endurance;  and  there  it  will 
then  gladden  that  eye  which  now  weeps  out  the  agony  of  an 
affection  that  has  been  sorely  wounded;  and  in  the  name  of 
Him  who,  if  on  earth,  would  have  wept  along  with  them,  do 
we  bid  all  believers  present,  to  sorrow  not  even  as  others  which 
have  no  hope,  but  to  take  comfort  in  the  thought  of  that 
country  where  there  is  no  sorrow  and  no  separation. 

Oh  !   when   a   mother  meets  on  high, 

The  babe  she  lost  in  infancy  ; 

Hath  she  not  then  for  pains  and  fears, 

The  day  of  woe,  the  watchful  night, 

For  all  her  sorrow,  all  her  tears, 

An  over  payment  of  delight  ? 


VIEWS  OE  A  TROUBLED  FATHER,  IN  A  LETTER  TO  THE  AUTHOR. 

But,  as  if  to  show  the  nothingness  of  human  applause — in 
the  midst  of  our  brightest  and  happiest  hours,  there  comes  one 
of  those  alarming  and  unexpected  strokes  of  providence,  to 
embitter  even  the  short  period  allotted  to  us  for  enjoyment — 
the  season  of  youth.  It  is  only  for  a  few  years,  when  our 
first-born  children  begin  to  articulate  the  name  of  father,  and 
to  hang  around  us,  with  all  that  ardour  of  filial  affection,  and 
to  wait  for  an  approving  smile,  or  a  fond  caress,  that  we 
experience  the  blessing  without  alloy,  of  having  children.  Bye 
and  bye,  they  begin  to  love  to  wander ;  and  the  bustle  of  life — 
the  studies  of  school — and  the  natural  disposition  for  play — 
take  off  their  attention  from  parents,  and  from  home,  and 
except  during  the  few  short  moments  of  meals,  our  children 
are  no  more  seen  by  us  than  entire  strangers.  Every  succeed- 
ing year  increases  the  distance,  and  anxieties  like  a  wild  deluge 


240  SOLACi;  I^OR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

burst  upon  us,  so  that  we  are  frequently  tempted  to  wish  that 
responsibilities  so  heavy  had  not  been  laid  upon  us.  Such  have 
been  my  feelings  for  the  last  seven  years,  and  I  state  them  in 
order  to  comfort  you  under  the  late  severe  bereavements. 
These  considerations  may  have  some  weight  with  you,  but 
what  can  be  said  to  relieve  a  mother's  anguish?  In  her  heart 
is  inflicted  a  festering  wound,  which  nothing  earthly  can  heal. 
But,  blessed  be  God,  there  is  consolation  to  be  drawn  from  a 
higher  source.  God  is  our  refuge,  and  our  strength ;  a  very 
present  help  in  the  time  of  trouble,  and  He  doth  not  afflict 
willingly,  or  grieve  the  children  of  men.  He  gives,  and  when 
He  takes  away.  He  takes  but  what  He  gave ;  He  can  give  the 
oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  and  the  garment  of  praise  for  the 
spirit  of  heaviness.  When  our  children  are  removed  in 
infancy,  we  know,  who  have  endured  the  storms  of  life,  from 
how  many  they  have  been  sheltered  within  the  bosom  of  their 
Father  and  their  God.  H  the  dear  Saviour,  when  on  earth, 
took  them  up  in  His  arms  and  blessed  them,  with  what  joy  will 
they  not  be  received  into  the  land  of  pure  delight,  washed  and 
made  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 

These  must  be  part,  and  the  greater  part,  of  that  innumer- 
able throng  who  surround  the  throne;  else  heaven  would  not 
be  peopled  with  inhabitants,  for  I  really  believe  few  of  those 
who  have  long  dwelt  on  earth,  are  fitted  to  enter  there— few 
are  chosen.  Sin  gains  stronger  and  stronger  dominion  every 
year;  and  love  for  divine  things,  or  real  joy  in  believing, 
becomes  less  and  less;  and  the  troubles  of  life  nearly  drown 
the  fire  of  celestial  love  that  once  glowed  in  the  heart. 

And  so  I  find  it  to  be  in  others,  the  older  they  grow— there- 
fore, there  are  few  that  be  saved  unless  as  by  fire.  Hov/  mer- 
ciful, and  how  kind  is  it,  therefore,  in  early  years,  for  the 
good  Shepherd  to  snatch  His  young  lambs  from  the  jaws  of 
the  wolf,  the  temptations  of  a  wicked  world,  and  a  growingly 
wicked  heart;  from  the  cold  blasts  of  wintry  adversity,  to 
those  blissful  regions,  where  the  sun  shall  no  more  go  down, 
nor  the  moon  withdraw  herself;  where  He,  who  is  on  the 
throne,  shall  be  their  everlastinig  light,  and  their  days  of 
mourning  shall  be  ended.  Will  you  accept  these  few  poor 
imperfect  thoughts  on  this  melancholy  subject,  as  the  best  that 


solace;  for  be:reaved  parents.  241 

have  suggested  themselves  to  me?  I  know  you  and  your  wife 
avail  yourselves  of  all  that  comfort  which  is  derived  from  daily 
application  at  the  throne  of  grace,  and  there  alone  can  you 
expect  to  receive  peace  to  your  troubled  minds;  and  there  I 
leave  you.  My  trials  have  been  heavy  and  severe,  but  of  a 
different  kind,  and  I  see  no  release  from  them  in  this  world. 
To  whichsoever  side  I  turn,  all  looks  black,  and  gloomy,  and 
cheerless,  and  I  feel  yet  as  the  dove  who  flew  from  the  Ark, 
but  could  find  no  place  that  was  not  covered  with  the  waters 
whose  angry  billows  had  swept  away  every  thing  lovely  in 
creation,  and  left  nothing  for  the  eye  to  rest  upon  but  chaos. 
vSuch  is  the  present  prospect.  I  could  wish  at  the  close  of  the 
year  to  dwell  on  more  joyous  scenes,  but  I  cannot.  May  God 
of  His  infinite  mercy  sanctify  to  us  the  bereavements  and 
changes  of  this  eventful  year,  and  prepare  us  for  whatever 
is  His  will  in  the  new  one  that  is  approaching.  And  though 
the  fig-tree  should  not  blossom,  nor  any  fruit  be  found  on  the 
vine,  and  the  flocks  should  be  cut  off  from  the  stall,  yet  may 
we  rejoice  in  the  God  of  our  salvation.  Come  and  let  us 
return  unto  the  Lord ;  for  He  hath  torn  and  He  will  heal  us ; 
He  hath  smitten,  and  He  will  bind  us  up.  After  two  days  He 
will  revive  us;  in  the  third  day  He  shall  raise  us  up,  and  we 
shall  live  in  His  sight. 


APPEAL  TO  PARENTS  WHO  ARE  NOT  PROFESSORS  OF  RELIGION. 

Irreligious,  but  bereaved  parents, — after  all,  what  avails  the 
safety  of  the  departed  to  you  ?  While  hope  for  your  own  soul 
holds  aloof  so  far — while  the  appeals  of  mercy  are  repeated 
in  vain — while  conscience  tells  so  fully,  and  so  truly,  that  the 
offer  of  salvation  has  ever  been  tendered  in  vain — what  boots 
the  rest  ?  What  is  it  to  you  that  the  hope  of  a  glorious  resur- 
rection enters  the  dark  and  dank  habitation  of  the  little  one? 
You  meet  again :  but  if  there  be  a  single  feeling  of  horror 
above  all  others  to  our  present  conception,  it  is  that  of  the 
ending  of  a  natural  and  social  law,  at  the  judgment  seat  of 
God.  It  is  that  of  a  law  of  affection  availing  nothing.  Your 
little  one  became  the  property  of  Jesus — not  by  virtue  of  any 
prayer  of  faith  that  you  had  uttered — not  by  a  free-will  offer- 

16— Vol.  X. 


242  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

ing  that  you  had  made— but  by  that  blood  of  atonement  you 
have  thrust  so  often  from  you — by  that  distinguishing  grace 
whose  attractions  were  too  faint  for  your  eye. 

Yet  you  have  watched  by  the  bed  of  the  departing  spirit 
of  infancy ;  and  you  have  caught  the  last  sigh,  as  the  soul 
winged  its  passage  from  earth.  And  even  the  loneliness 
of  that  sad  moment  seemed  broken  by  an  admonition — 
"Father!" — "Mother!" — "come  away!"  You  heard — you 
thought — eternity  neared — earth  interposed — and  you  returned 
to  its  bosom  again. 

Impenitent,  but  bereaved  parent ! — When  a  future  world,  in 
some  hour  of  reflection,  flings  its  shadow  over  your  path ;  and, 
despite  of  all  your  efl:orts,  presses  its  realities  upon  your  atten- 
tion, remember — that  no  bond  of  parental  love  may  abide  here- 
after, when  the  frown  of  an  offended  God  settles  the  destiny 
of  the  lost,  and  the  only  relationship  that  exists,  is  that  of  the 
family  of  Christ. 

If  the  tender  mercies  of  the  Saviour  were  too  little  engag- 
ing to  win  your  admiration — if  the  worth  of  your  own  soul  has 
not  entered  into  your  thoughts  of  the  future — behold  what  an 
argument  is  furnished  by  an  afflictive  dispensation !  You 
loved  the  departed.  To  that  very  affection  a  most  solemn 
providence  of  God  has  appealed.  It  bids  you  gaze  from  earth 
to  Heaven.  It  reminds  you  of  the  abode  of  glorified  spirits. 
It  admonishes  you  to  inquire,  "am  I  also  ready?"  It  intimates 
most  earnestly  and  clearly,  that  the  only  true  consolation  which 
ever  succeeds  the  stroke  of  sorrow,  must  be  connected  with  a 
reconciliation  to  God,  and  an  humble  hope  in  the  Redeemer's 
blood.  Let  these  be  yours,  and  your  peace  will  be  independent 
of  the  precarious  tenure  of  human  life.  Faith  shall  scatter 
the  darkness,  and  explain  the  mystery,  so  readily  attendant  on 
affliction.  You  shall  look  up  from  the  tomb  to  the  late  object 
of  your  solicitude  and  care.  You  shall  exclaim  with  a  confi- 
dence  sure   and   steadfast, — "though   he   shall   not   return   to 

me" — ^"I  SHALL  GO  TO  HIM  !" 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  243 

GOD  IS  NOT  DEAD. 

There  lived  in  the  east  of  Scotland  a  pious  clergyman,  who 
had  presided  for  a  number  of  years  over  a  small  but  respect- 
able congregation.  In  the  midst  of  his  active  career  of  use- 
fulness, he  was  suddenly  removed  by  death,  leaving  behind 
him  a  wife  and  a  number  of  helpless  children. 

The  small  stipend  allowed  him  by  his  congregation,  had  been 
barely  sufficient  to  meet  the  current  expenses  of  his  family; 
and  at  his  death  no  visible  means  were  left  for  their  support. 
The  death  of  her  husband  preyed  deeply  upon  the  heart  of  the 
poor  afflicted  widow,  while  the  dark  prospect  which  the  future 
presented,  filled  her  mind  with  the  most  gloomy  apprehensions. 
By  her  lonely  fireside  she  sat — the  morning  after  her  sad 
bereavement — lamenting  her  forlorn  and  destitute  condition, 
when  her  little  son,  a  boy  of  five  years  of  age,  entered  the 
room.  Seeing  the  deep  distress  of  his  mother,  he  stole  softly 
to  her  side,  and  placing  his  little  hand  in  hers,  looked  wistfully 
into  her  face,  and  said :  "Mother,  mother,  is  God  dead  ?"  Soft 
as  the  gentle  whisper  of  an  angel,  did  the  simple  accent  of  the 
dear  boy  fall  upon  the  ear  of  the  disconsolate,  and  almost 
heart-broken  mother.  A  gleam  of  heavenly  radiance  lighted 
up,  for  a  moment,  her  pale  features.  Then  snatching  up  her 
little  boy,  and  pressing  him  fondly  to  her  bosom,  she  exclaimed : 
"No,  no,  my  son,  God  is  not  dead ;  He  lives,  and  has  promised 
to  be  a  father  to  the  fatherless,  a  husband  to  the  widow.  His 
promises  are  sure  and  steadfast,  and  upon  them  I  will  firmly 
and  implicitly  rely."  Her  tears  were  dried,  and  her  murmur- 
ings  forever  hushed.  The  event  proved  that  her  confidence 
was  not  misplaced.  The  congregation  over  whom  her  husband 
had  worthily  presided,  generously  settled  upon  her  a  handsome 
annuity,  by  which  she  was  enabled  to  support  her  family,  not 
only  comfortably,  but  even  genteelly.  The  talents  of  her  sons, 
as  they  advanced  in  years,  soon  brought  them  into  notice,  and 
finally  procured  them  high  and  honourable  stations  in  society. 


Your  child,  though  dead,  is  still,  bereaved  parents,  yours. 
"God  has  given  me  three  sons,"  writes  the  Rev.  Oliver  Hey- 
wood  in  his  meditations,  "all  living,  only  the  youngest  lives 


244  SOLACi:  FOR  BERHAVED  PARENTS. 

with  God,  in  His  immediate  presence,  having  died  in  infancy 
under  the  covenant."* 


THE  INFANT  S  GRAVE. 

The  wife  of  the  missionary,  who  came  home  last  spring, 
brought  with  her  from  the  foreign  country  where  she  had  been 
long  a  sojourner,  three  noble  boys.  But  they  were  not  all  her 
children.  Her  youngest  was  not  with  her.  Did  he  sleep,  then, 
under  the  stately  mimosa,  or  the  beautiful  palm-tree — beneath 
the  shadow  of  the  church  raised  to  the  name  of  the  Christian's 
God  in  the  land  of  Idols?  There,  perhaps,  his  swarthy  nurse 
sits  on  his  grave,  and  tells  how  the  gentle  white  lady  devoted 
her  child  to  her  Saviour  in  baptism,  and  found  comfort  when 
he  died,  and  how  she,  poor  heathen  as  she  had  been,  had  learnt 
submission  from  the  Christian's  book ;  and  how,  having  faith 
in  Christ,  lived  in  the  calm  hope  of  meeting  again  those  her 
kind  instructors,  and  that  her  foster-son.  No !  the  missionary's 
child  is  not  buried  there ;  he  died  on  the  voyage  home ;  he  was 
buried  in  the  deep  sea;  so  neither  nurse  nor  mother  may  look 
upon  his  grave ;  but  his  little  coffin  was  made  as  neatly  as  cir- 
cumstances permitted,  and  the  ceremony  of  his  funeral  was 
conducted  with  all  that  attention  to  order  and  propriety  which 
it  is  the  last  comfort  of  our  survivors  to  pay.  All  the  children, 
and  there  were  many  on  board,  beside  his  own  little  brothers, 
went  on  deck,  and  stood  round  the  corpse  whilst  the  beautiful 
service  was  read ;  and  it  was  solemnly  and  affectionately  read, 
by  the  beloved  friend  and  fellow-labourer,  who  had  been  a 
stranger  with  them  in  the  strange  land.  It  was  sad  to  be 
obliged  to  take  the  last  look  at  the  dear  child,  even  before  "the 
first  day  of  death  was  fled."  There  was  something  inexpres- 
sibly melancholy  in  the  plunge  with  which  the  lost  treasure 
sunk  down,  deeper  and  deeper,  to  the  depths  which  no  line 
has  sounded!  and  the  waves  rolled  on,  and  the  gallant  ship 
hastened  on  her  course,  so  that  the  eye  of  man  might  never 
again  know  the  place  of  his  rest.  But  "thou.  Lord,  art  the 
hope  of  them  that  remain  in  the  broad  sea !"  So  thought  his 
mother  while  she  wept  in  silence ;  but  she  looked  for  the  resur- 

*Works,  Vol,  i.  p.  207. 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  245 

rection  of  the  body,  when  the  sea  shall  give  up  her  dead,  and 
she  was  calm. 


THE  BEREAVED  MOTHER. 

I  marked  a  mother  at  the  tomb  of  her  son.  Her  sable  gar- 
ment coincided  with  the  deep  gloom  that  hung  heavily  around 
her  heart.  Her  declining  head,  her  closed,  clasped  hands,  her 
fixed  position,  her  tear-bedewed  cheek,  bespoke  the  intensity  of 
her  thoughts,  and  the  sorrow  of  her  soul.  The  scene  struck  the 
strings  of  sympathy,  and  a  correspondent  tear,  flowing  from 
the  impulse  of  a  similar  feeling,  trickled  down  my  cheek. — 
Fancy  lent  her  creative  power  to  my  mind,  and  methought  I 
heard  and  felt  the  grief-inspired  soliloquy  of  the  heart-broken 
mother,  as  she  revolved  in  her  depressed  mind  the  following 
thoughts:  "Ah!  yes,  my  child,  thou  art  numbered  with  the 
dead! — The  curtain  of  my  hopes  has  suddenly  dropped,  and 
the  thick  cloud  of  soul-rending  despondency  shuts  the  light  of 
joy  and  tranquility  from  my  mind.  When  feeble  infancy  was 
thine,  with  what  rapture  I  watched  the  pleasurable  smile  play- 
ing on  thy  health-flushed  cheeks :  it  was  then  my  heart  bounded 
with  ecstacy,  and  antedated  the  joys  of  youth  and  the  happi- 
ness of  manhood.  I  thought  thou  wouldst  have  been  the  pillar 
of  my  old  age ;  I  thought  thou  wouldst  have  supported  my  tot- 
tering declining  life,  when  the  extinguished  hand  of  time  had 
quenched  the  fervour  of  vitality.  But  ah!  these  love-built 
hopes  are  gone  for  ever ;  they  are  buried  in  the  humid  earth 
with  thee.  No  more  I  hear  thy  voice — no  more  I  mark  thy 
sprightly  eye ;  thy  voice  is  as  silent  as  the  grave,  and  thine  eye 
fixed  by  the  rigid  power  of  death.  Scarce  more  than  eighteen 
months  had  rolled  around  thy  head  before  the  "grim  monster" 
came  and  snatched  thee  from  the  world.  Thou  wert  stricken 
as  the  tendei  sapling  scathed  by  the  lightning's  fiery  bolt.  O 
Death !  thou  art  the  destroyer  of  a  mother's  bliss.  But  still, 
amid  all  my  sorrow,  I  will  say, 

"Worms  may  banquet  on  that  frame, 
And  ruin  feed  on  what  was  fair : 
Back  to  the  skies  from  whence  it  came 
The  soul  recalled  shall  flourish  there," 


246  SOLACE  For  bereaved  parents. 

With  these  words  she  ended ;  and  taking  her  Httle  daughter 
by  the  hand,  she  slowly  retired. f 


A  heathen  father  and  his  child. 

Shagdur,  a  convert  among  the  Moguls  in  Siberia,  having 
lost  his  little  son,  addressed  the  following  letter  to  Mr.  Swan 
the  Missionary : 

AIy  Dear  Sir, — While  you  and  I  are,  by  the  merciful  provi- 
dence of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  aHve  and  in  health,  I  desire 
to  lay  one  little  matter  before  you.  It  pleased  God  to  give  me 
a  little  son;  and  it  has  now  pleased  Him  to  remove  the  child 
from  me.  Every  day  I  think  that  one  member  of  my  body 
has  been  taken  to  heaven;  and  this  thought  is  like  a  sweet 
savour  in  my  heart.  And  when  I  think  of  my  dear  child  as 
one  of  the  countless  assembly  who  are  singing  the  praises  of 
Christ  in  heaven,  my  heart  longs  to  go  up  and  join  them:  but 
although  the  child,  a  part  of  myself,  is  separated  from  me,  I 
hope,  through  my  Saviour's  power  and  mercy,  one  day  to  meet 
him  in  glory. 

Now,  sir,  when  my  little  William  was  born,  the  neighbours 
came  in,  bearing  to  him  gifts;  some  gave  one  copeck  (about 
one-tenth  of  a  penny;)  some  two;  in  all,  forty  copecks.  When 
the  child  died,  I  did  not  know  what  to  do  with  this  money ; 
but,  at  length,  a  thought  came  to  me,  which  gave  joy  to  my 
heart ;  and  about  this  I  write  these  few  lines. 

Among  the  many  letters  which  go  to  make  up  the  words 
contained  in  the  New  Testament,  printed  for  the  instruction 
of  the  heathen  nations,  Tonilgaksha*  is  often  repeated.  Now, 
although  these  forty  copecks  may  not  be  sufficient  for  more 
than  the  dot  over  the  letter  i,  in  the  word  Tonilgaksha,  I  beg 
of  you  to  accept  of  my  little  William's  money  for  that  pur- 
pose.— Dear  Sir,  do  not  refuse  it.  I  have  not  given  it  to  you, 
but  I  have  given  it  to  print  a  dot  over  a  letter  in  the  name  of 
my  Saviour ;  and  may  this  be  a  little  memorial  of  my  infant, 
for  the  benefit  of  my  dear  friends  who  are  without  Christ.  I 
remain  your  scholar, 

tinfluence  of  Mothers,  p.  132. 
*i.  e.  Jesus  Christ. 


solace  for  bkreave^d  parents.  847 

Shagdur,  the  Son  oe  Kemuaii. 

Mr.  Swan  makes  a  good  use  of  this  affecting  incident:  he 
writes — 

I  hope  the  foregoing  letter  may  meet  the  eye  of  many  a 
bereaved  parent  to  whom  it  may  not  have  occurred  to  present 
to  the  Lord,  in  the  form  of  an  offering  to  His  Cause,  whatever 
belonged  to  some  dear  departed  child;  or  whatever  they  had 
destined  as  that  child's  portion,  had  the  Lord  been  pleased  to 
continue  it  to  their  embraces.  And,  perhaps,  the  reading  of 
this  simple  effusion  of  a  heart  but  lately  emerged  from  the 
degradation  of  a  heathen  state,  and  which  has  found  a  sweet 
solace  under  its  bereavement  in  devoting  the  child's  mite  to 
the  Lord,  may  induce  some  to  go  and  do  likewise.  Some  may 
be  able  far  to  surpass  this  offering ;  some  parents  may  present, 
as  having  belonged  to  some  dear  departed  infant,  what  may 
be  enough  to  print,  not  merely  the  dots  over  a  letter,  but  the 
whole  of  the  Saviour's  precious  name  in  some  Heathen  lan- 
guage,— others,  a  whole  verse — others,  an  entire  book — others, 
an  edition  of  the  New  Testament,  or  of  the  whole  Bible. 


story  from  the  mishna  of  the  rabbins. 

During  the  absence  of  Rabbi  Meir  from  his  house,  his  two 
sons  died,  both  of  them  of  uncommon  beauty  and  enlightened 
by  the  law.  His  wife  bore  them  to  her  chamber,  laid  them 
upon  the  bed,  and  spread  a  white  covering  over  their  bodies. 
When  Rabbi  Meir  returned,  his  first  inquiry  was  for  his  sons. 
His  wife  reached  to  him  a  goblet ;  he  praised  the  Lord  at  the 
going  out  of  the  Sabbath,  drank,  and  again  asked,  "Where 
are  my  sons,  that  they  too  may  drink  of  the  cup  of  blessing?" 

"They  will  not  be  far  off,"  she  replied,  and  placed  food 
before  him  that  he  might  eat.  He  was  in  a  gladsome  and 
genial  mood ;  and  when  he  had  said  grace,  after  the  meal,  she 
thus  addressed  him :  "Rabbi,  with  thy  permission  I  would  fain 
propose  to  thee  one  question." 

"Ask  it  then,  my  love,"  replied  he. 

"A  few  days  ago  a  person  entrusted  some  jewels  to  my  cus- 
tody, and  now  he  demands  them ;  should  I  give  them  back  to 
him?" 


248  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

"This  is  a  question,"  said  Rabbi  Meir,  "which  my  wife 
should  not  have  thought  it  necessary  to  ask.  What!  wouldst 
thou  hesitate  or  be  reluctant  to  restore  to  every  one  his  own?" 

"No,"  she  replied,  "but  yet  I  thought  it  best  not  to  restore 
them  without  acquainting  thee  therewith."  She  then  led  him 
to  their  chamber,  and  stepping  to  the  bed,  took  the  white  cov- 
ering from  the  dead  bodies. 

"Ah !  my  sons,  my  sons !"  loudly  lamented  their  father,  "my 
sons !  the  light  of  my  eyes,  and  the  light  of  my  understanding. 
I  was  your  father — but  ye  were  my  teachers  in  the  law." 

The  mother  turned  away  and  wept  bitterly.  At  length,  she 
took  the  husband  by  the  hand  and  said,  "Rabbi,  didst  thou  not 
teach  me  that  we  must  not  be  reluctant  to  restore  that  which 
was  entrusted  to  our  keeping?  See,  the  Lord  gave  and  the 
Lord  hath  taken  away,  and  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord !" 

"Blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord!"  echoed  the  holy  man; 
"and  blessed  be  His  glorious  name  forever." 


A  CHRISTIAN  PARENT'S  REFLECTIONS  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  CHILD. 

The  bills  of  mortality  show  that  more  than  half  the  human 
race  die  in  infancy  and  childhood.  As  God  then  gave  us  five 
children,  and  has  now  taken  away  three,  we  are  not  to  think 
ourselves  more  hardly  dealt  with  than  others;  especially  as 
these  dear  little  ones  have  doubtless  entered  upon  a  good 
exchange.  There  is  much  in  the  consideration,  that  so  many 
immortal  human  beings  are  just  shown  to  this  world,  and  so 
quickly  removed  into  another.  They  are  as  those  plants  which 
are  gathered  and  housed  the  moment  they  are  in  season ;  while 
others,  who  arrive  at  maturer  age,  are  as  the  fewer  plants, 
which,  being  left  for  seed,  remain  longer  out  in  wind  and 
weather.  What  pains  one's  natural  feelings  most  is,  that  we 
so  much  miss  the  delight  that  we  have  enjoyed  in  the  lovely 
innocent  ways  of  a  thriving  child.  But  even  this  is  made  up 
for  the  sure  and  certain  prospect  of  what  is  far  better.  We 
do  not  regret  the  fall  of  the  sweet  and  delightful  blossoms  of 
our  plants  and  trees,  though  they  soon  drop  oflf  in  such  multi- 
tudes, because  the  fruit  which  succeeds  is  attended  with  more 
substantial  enjoyment.     Had  we  had  no  such  child  born  to  us 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  249 

a  year  ago,  it  is  true  we  should  not  have  been  in  our  present 
sorrow;  but  having  attended  it  this  day  to  its  grave,  we  are 
temporarily  in  the  same  situation  as  if  we  had  never  possessed 
it.  And  yet  we  can  count  it  gain  to  be  able  to  reckon  on  one 
more  child  of  our  own  in  heaven.  It  therefore  was  neither 
"made  for  naught,"  nor  brought  into  the  world  in  vain;  nor 
has  the  care  we  expended  on  it  been  thrown  away.  And  now 
that  such  care  has  ceased,  and  our  responsibility  with  it,  we 
have  the  more  leisure  to  attend  to  the  one  thing  needful,  and 
to  direct  to  this  great  object,  in  a  more  undivided  manner,  the 
attention  of  our  two  surviving  children. 


THE  GRAVE  OF  MY  CHIED. 

The  sweet  month  has  again  returned — the  first  of  the  sum- 
mer months — which  will  ever  be  remembered  by  me  as  the 
season  when  my  cherished  one  sickened  and  died.  If  not  a 
father,  reader,  you  may  pass  on,  though  I  should  delight  to 
detain  you  near  my  little  daughter's  grave  for  a  few  moments. 
But  if  the  pulse  of  parental  love  has  ever  had  vitality  in  your 
bosom,  I  need  not  apologize.  My  feelings,  my  sympathies,  my 
joys,  and  sorrows  are  yours.  Two  years  have  now  elapsed 
since  that  day  when  death  first  entered  my  family.  The  whole 
sceme  rushes  vividly  before  the  miod,  showing  how  deep  and 
strong  was  the  impression  then  made.  The  first  attack  of  the 
insidious  disease — the  promise  of  recovery — then  the  relapse — 
the  incessant  anxieties — the  unsleeping  vigils — the  anguish  of 
the  helpless  sufferer — her  sweet  submission  to  the  will  of 
God — her  triumph  over  death  and  the  grave — in  a  word,  the 
succession  of  emotions,  that  like  wave  after  wave,  swept  across 
our  bosoms,  while  life  hung  in  fearful  uncertainty,  all  these 
are  engraven  as  with  the  point  of  a  diamond  on  the  table  of 
the  memory.  Nor  would  we  erase  them.  It  is  not  a  mere 
dream  of  the  poet's  imagination,  that  there  is  "luxury  in  grief." 
This  idea  is  true  to  nature.  Not,  indeed,  that  the  pain  is  not 
intense,  when  those  chords  of  the  heart  are  struck,  which  are 
the  very  seat  of  the  most  exquisite  sensibility,  but  that  pain  is 
mellowed  and  hallowed  by  some  mysterious  influence,  flowing 
from  the  inexhaustible  fountain  of  infinite  benevolence.     The 


250  SOLACD  FOR  BE^E^AVED  PARENTS. 

heart  lingers  too  much  round  these  visible  scenes.  "She  goeth 
to  the  grave  to  weep  there."  Oh,  why  did  she  not  look  up? 
Contemplations  that  are  bounded  only  by  the  limits  of  the 
grave  are  less  fitted  to  minister  consolation  to  affliction,  than 
nutriment  to  sorrow,  even  that  "sorrow  of  the  world  that 
worketh  death."  If  the  soul,  in  the  tumult  of  its  grief,  will 
but  pause  a  moment,  and  listen,  it  will  soon  hear  a  voice  saying, 
"I  am  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life.  He  that  believeth  in 
me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live,  and  he  that  liveth 
and  believeth  in  me,  shall  never  die."  This  changes  the  entire 
scene.  It  is  no  more  sight,  but  faith.  What  a  world  of 
wonders  does  faith  unfold  to  the  view !  Now,  we  can  see  the 
rarusomed  spirit,  nioit  asi  it  was  oppressed  wiith  douibt  and  ago- 
nized with  suffering,  but  spreading  the  uoclogged  wings  of  its 
Love,  and  expatiating  with  rapture  amid'  scenes  oif  heavenly 
beauty  and  songs  of  seraphic  melody.  Who  would  be  so  cruel  as 
to  call  that  spirit  back  again  to  be  sailed  with  the  dust  of  earth  ; 
to  re-endure  its  sorrows ;  to  be  again  endangered  by  its  fascina- 
tions ;  flattered  with  its  illusions ;  distracted  with  its  cares,  and 
deceived  by  its  promises  ?  Is  it  not  better  for  the  soul  to  find 
"its  long  sought  rest,"  to  be  disrobed  of  its  earthly  mantle ;  to 
enter  the  pure  and  perfect  society  of  the  blessed;  to  dwell 
where  Holiness  holds  its  court ;  where  angels  tune  their  harps ; 
where  the  redeemed  swell  the  high  anthem  of  praise  to  the 
exalted  Lamb  ;  where  it  will  never  be  interrupted  in  that  wor- 
ship, which  was  the  original  privilege  and  the  delicious  employ- 
ment of  the  soul,  "created  in  the  image  of  God?" 


TO  PARENTS  BEREAVED  OF  A  CHILD. 

Extract  Prom  a  Manuscript  Letter  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Schuffler 
of  Constantinople. 

On  the  subject  of  Infant  Salvation,  /  have  no  doubt.  I  have 
had  it  in  view  to  write  something  more  thoroughgoing  upon 
this  subject  than  I  have  yet  seen  in  print,  but  my  multiplied 
engagements  do  not  permit  it.  Suppose  the  dear  Infants  all 
in  Heaven.  What  a  glorious  victory  has  been  already  achieved 
over  the  world  of  darkness !  Already  more  souls  saved  than 
lost !     What  depth  of  meaning  those  passages  of  Scripture  at 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  251 

once  assume  which  speak  of  infants,  "Out  of  the  mouth  of 
babes  and  sucklings  thou  hast  perfected  praise."  "Suflfer  httle 
children  to  come  unto  me  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of  such  is 
the  kingdom  of  heaven."  "Their  angels  do  always  behold  the 
face  of  my  Father  in  heaven."  "Christ  is  the  propitiation  for 
the  sins  of  the  whole  ivorld," — only  "those  who  believe  not 
shall  be  damned."  And  around  the  conception,  birth,  and 
infancy  of  Christ  a  new  and  glorious  light  shines,  while  the 
bodily  sufferings  in  which  infants  also  share,  and  which  show 
them  to  belong  to  a  sinful  race,  bring  them  under  some  unalter- 
able moral  laws,  (John  xii.  24,)  which  have  immediate  refer- 
ence to  life  and  salvation.  However,  to  understand  these 
subjects,  I  am  satisfied  it  is  necessary  to  have  looked  into  the 
graves  of  darling  children.  The  night  of  affliction  reveals  to 
our  wondering  view  the  starry  firmament  of  divine  love,  and 
divine  truths,  and  the  promises  given  to  mourning  souls,  can 
be  felt  and  understood  by  mourners  alone. 

It  seems  to  me,  we  need  infant  choirs  in  heaven,  to  make 
up  full  concert  to  the  angelic  symphony.  Who  will  sing  like 
unto  them,  of  the  manger,  and  the  swaddling  clothes,  and  of 
the  Lord  of  all,  drawing  nourishment  from  the  bosom  of 
mortal  mothers !  True  these  are  themes  of  infinite  interest, 
and  the  delight  and  wonder  of  angels.  But  ah !  they  are  too 
tender  for  the  Archangel's  powerful  trump — too  tender  for  the 
thundering  notes  of  seraphim  and  cherubim.  We  must  have 
infant  choirs  in  heaven.  When  on  some  Sunday  school  anni- 
versary the  multitude  of  little  children  come  together,  and 
after  hearing  some  words  of  tender  and  affectionate  exhorta- 
tion and  advice,  they  strike  up  their  artless  hymn,  all  the 
assembly  is  moved  to  tears  and  the  single-hearted  little  ones 
carry  away  from  the  Masters  in  Israel  the  palm  of  eloquence ; 
and  the  thrill  of  their  tender  voices  is  felt  vibrating  in  the 
hearts  of  those  who  heard  them,  when  the  most  powerful 
speeches  are  long  forgotten. 

We  must  have  Infant  Choirs  in  Heaven !  And  is  it  no 
privilege  to  know  one  of  our  dear  ones  among  them?  What 
an  interest  does  not  a  father  or  a  mother  feel  in  listening  to 
the  sweet  voices  of  the  children  when  they  know  their  beloved 
child  is  among  the  happy  songsters.     And  is  it  not  incom- 


252  soIvACe;  for  bereaved  parents. 

parably  more  precious  to  know  them  among  the  songsters  in 
Heaven !  And  oh !  with  what  additional  interest,  with  what 
quickened  anticipations  do  I  now  look  beyond  the  grave !  I 
think  of  the  moment  when  I  shall  fold  my  little  ones  to  a 
father's  bosom  again  and  that  forever,  and  tears  of  joy  and 
gratitude  flow  down  my  cheeks  involuntarily.  Even  now, 
while  I  am  writing,  the  voices  of  two  of  my  children,  is  it 
possible? — yes,  of  my  children  are  singing  praises  unto  Him 
who  became  a  poor  babe  and  a  man  of  sorrows  for  them  and 
for  all  men.  O,  let  them  sing  then !  I  can  only  wish  to  join 
them  soon ! 

And  now,  your  dear  James  has  gone  to  unite  with  them. 
And  while  you  read  this,  and  it  may  be  weep,  he  raises  his 
growing  notes  of  praise  and  gratitude  to  the  Saviour  of  all 
men  and  learns  in  one  minute  more  of  God,  and  of  Christ,  and 
Heaven,  than  you  would  ever  have  taught  him  in  all  your  lives. 
Oh !  leave  them  there — all  of  them,  and  let  us  but  become  daily 
more  heavenly-minded,  and  more  ready  to  join  the 

"Angels  who  stand  round  the  throne, 
And   view   my   Immanuel's  face." 

And  the— 

"Saints  who  stand  nearer  than  they !" 

All  those  redeemed  by  the  precious  blood  of  Christ,  and 
called  close  around  the  steps  of  His  Throne  to  sing  the  song, — 
not  of  creation  and  providence  only,  but  of  redeeming  love 
and  sovereign  grace. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  PARENT  IN  BEREAVEMENT. 

No  sooner  was  its  last  struggle  over,  than  the  little  corpse, 
with  ashes  put  into  its  hand,  was  adorned  again  with  clean 
linen,  flowers,  citrons,  wreaths,  &c.,  which,  indeed,  could  only 
die  and  decay  with  it;  and  which  afforded  but  a  poor  and 
moinentary  agreeableness  to  the  eye;  but  how  beautiful  must 
that  adorning  be  with  which  our  heavenly  Father  clothes  the 
soul  in  His  own  presence,  in  the  presence  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  of  His  holy  angels! 

Our  chief  hindrance  to  entire  resignation  is,  that  we  are  so 
much  addicted  to  things  present  and  visible,   while  eternal 


SOLACK  FOR  BERIvAVED  PARENTS.  253 

realities  are  as  yet  so  foreign  to  us,  and  so  little  known.  But 
could  we  take  one  glance  at  the  condition  of  a  spirit  thus 
departed,  we  should  never  regret  and  lament,  as  we  are  apt  to 
do,  the  decease  of  relatives  and  friends,  but  our  grief  would 
rather  be  on  account  of  the  dim-sightedness  of  weeping  sur- 
vivors. 

Surely,  when  the  door  of  paradise  is  opened  to  let  in  any  of 
our  departed  friends,  delicious  breezes  blow  through  upon  us 
from  that  abode  of  blessedness.  And  we  ought  to  avail  our- 
selves of  such  refreshing  influence;  we  ought  to  let  it  quicken 
us  in  following  after  those  who  have  gone  before  us,  rather 
than  wish  those  friends  back  again  to  a  world  like  this.  Who 
could  ever  think  of  congratulating  any  that  have  been  enjoying 
heavenly  rest  and  security  for  ten,  a  hundred,  or  a  thousand 
years  together,  upon  their  having  to  return  back  again  to  the 
perils  and  dangers  of  the  present  life.  Why,  then,  should  we 
regard  it  as  an  affliction  that  any  one  of  our  number  has 
escaped  from  such  perils,  and  is  only  entered  into  perfect  peace 
and  security?  If  a  vacancy  has  been  made  in  the  family  circle, 
let  it  also  be  remembered  that  another  vacancy  has  been  filled 
up  in  heaven.  The  nearer  we  in  this  world  are  approaching 
to  the  end  of  all  things,  the  more  welcome  should  be  the 
thought  of  dying;  because  every  departed  Christian  finds  that 
the  multitude  of  the  blessed  is  increasingly  outnumbering  the 
militant  remnant ;  and  because  the  whole  family  of  God  are 
thus  successively  gathering  in,  that  we  may  all  be  together  for 
ever  with  the  Lord.* 


THE  STAR  IN  THE  EAST. 

In  one  of  those  quiet,  secluded  valleys  of  the  Alps,  near  the 
lake's  wild  margin,  embossed  by  snow-crowned  mountains,  lies 
the  little  village  of  Geneva.  In  its  midst  stood  the  moss- 
covered  cottage  of  Bolien.  The  departing  radiance  of  a  sum- 
mer's sun  played  among  the  leaves  of  the  flowers,  and  the 
mountains  and  tall  trees  were  inverted  in  the  pure  waters,  now 
stilled  beneath  the  deep  blue  sky  of  heaven.  The  windows 
of   Bolien's   cottage   were   thrown   open,   the   curtains   drawn 

*Froni  a  Letter  of  Rev.  J.  A.  Bengel,  after  the  death  of  a  child. 


254  SOI^ACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

aside,  and  there  watched  the  wife  of  the  faithful  pastor  over 
her  dying  child.  Now  she  parted  the  damp  curls  from  his 
brow,  and  then  pressed  her  lips  on  his  little  cold  fingers,  which 
she  held  in  her  hand.  Fervently  the  silent  prayer  ascended, 
that  the  night  of  sorrow  might  pass,  and  the  storm  of  agony 
be  stilled  in  her  bosom;  then,  as  the  babe  turned  restlessly  in 
her  lap,  in  a  low  tone  she  sung, 

Sleep,  baby,  sleep, 
Once  more  upon  my  breast, 
Thine  aching  head  shall  rest, 

In  quiet  sleep. 

Sleep,  baby,  sleep. 
Sweetly  thine  eye  is  closing. 
Calmly  thou'rt  now  reposing. 

In  slumber  deep. 

Sleep,  angel  baby,  sleep : 
Not  in  thy  cradle  bed 
Shall  rest  thy  little  head, 
But  with  the  quiet  dead. 

In  dreamless  sleep. 

As  the  mother  looked  on  her  boy,  she  saw  that  his  little 
limbs  were  stiff  with  the  icy  chill  of  death.  A  smile  was  on 
the  cherub  face,  and  the  long  lashes  were  closed  over  the  blue 
eyes.  Sweet  Babe!  no  wonder  that  thy  mother's  heart  is 
broken  when  she  looks  on  her  only  child, — dead!  The  kind- 
hearted  villagers  made  a  little  grave  among  the  trees, — and  on 
the  third  day,  when  the  morning  sun  shone  upon  the  Alpine 
mountains,  they  took  from  the  mother's  bosom  her  little  one, 
and  laid  it  in  the  ground ;  and  then  they  looked  along  the 
narrow  and  wild  defile  of  the  mountain  for  their  Pastor,  who 
had  been  some  days  absent. 

At  evening  the  wife  of  Bolien  sat  alone  in  her  cottage.  She 
looked  upon  the  lake.  A  beautiful  light  was  on  its  waters. 
She  raised  her  head.  It  was  the  star  in  the  east ;  and  it  came 
and  stood  over  the  place  where  the  young  child  was.  Upon 
her  darkened  soul  it  rose  as  the  star  of  hope — the  dawning  of 
that  light,  which  had  been  for  a  while  withdrawn.  "I  shall 
rejoice  in  Him  who  was  born  King  of  the  Jews, — for  He  hath 
gathered  the  sheep  in  His  arms, — and  He  carries  the  lambs 
in  His  bosom,"  she  exclaimed,— and  her  feelings  were 
calmed,— her  broken  spirit  found  repose. 

That  night  the  villagers  welcomed  their  beloved  Pastor.  No 
one  dared  tell  him  his  only  son  rested  beneath  the  sods  of  the 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  255 

valley.  As  he  passed  from  among  them,  into  his  own  cottage, 
from  v^'hich  the  little  light  w^as  faintly  gleaming,  they  uttered 
the  heartfelt  benediction,  "Peace  be  within  this  dwelling." 
The  embrace  of  the  Pastor  and  his  wife  was  close  and  affec- 
tionate, and  then  the  eye  of  the  father  glanced  on  the  cradle 
which  stood  in  its  accustomed  place.  "The  baby  sleeps,"  he 
said.  "Blessed  be  God  who  has  preserved  you  both !"  The 
mother  turned  to  wipe  the  tears  from  her  eyes,  as  she  replied, 
"Yes,  the  baby  sleeps, — you  cannot  wake  him." — The  fearful 
truth  did  not  enter  the  mind  of  Bolien,  and  he  seated  him.self 
to  partake  of  some  simple  refreshment  which  was  set  before 
him.  "Your  countenance  is  sad,"  he  exclaimed,  as  he  looked 
upon  the  face  of  his  wife.  "Methinks  your  heart  should  be 
full  of  joy.  What  shall  we  render  to  the  Lord  for  all  His 
goodness !"  The  struggle  in  the  countenance  of  the  afflicted 
mother  was  too  agonizing  to  escape  the  notice  of  Bolien,  and, 
as  he  took  her  hand  in  his,  he  exclaimed,  "Tell  me,  I  beseech 
you,  what  has  happened.  Christianity  I  know  is  not  secure, 
even  among  the  Alpine  valleys.  It  may  be  that  we  are  yet  to 
cross  the  mountains  of  ice  and  snow,  and  seek  shelter  from 
those  who  persecute  us  for  righteousness  sake.  Tell  me,  what 
has  befallen  us,  that  you  weep  thus?"  The  eye  of  the  heart- 
stricken  mother  glanced  towards  the  cradle  of  her  babe,  and 
there  needed  no  comment.  The  Pastor  fell  on  his  knees,  and 
uttered,  "Our  child  is  dead!" — then  buried  his  face  in  his 
hands,  and  w^ept  aloud. 

An  hour  passed, — and  the  Pastor  and  his  wife  mingled  their 
tears  at  the  grave  of  their  child.  Sweetly  did  the  star  in  the 
east  shine  on  that  little  mound. — As  Bolien  uncovered  his  head, 
and  gazed  upwards,  he  exclaimed,  "The  Star  of  Bethlehem 
shall  be  our  gi.tide  to  that  land  which  needeth  no  star  to  shine 
upon  it !  for  the  glory  of  God  shall  lighten  it ;  and  the  Lamb 
is  the  lififht  thereof  !" 


We  must  enter  into  the  designs  of  God,  and  try  to  receive 
the  comforts  that  He  bestows.  We  shall  soon  find  him  whom 
we  seem  to  have  lost;  we  approach  him  with  rapid  strides. 
Yet  a  little  time  and  we  shall  shed  no  more  tears.  We 
shall    die    ourselves.     Him    whom    we    love    lives,    and    will 


256  solace;  for  bereaved  parents. 

never  die.  This  is  v^^hat  we  believe;  if  we  believe  it  rightly, 
we  shall  feel  in  respect  to  our  friends  as  Jesus  Christ  wished 
that  His  disciples  should  feel  with  regard  to  Him  when  He 
rose  to  heaven.  "If  you  loved  me,"  said  He,  "you  would 
rejoice"  in  my  glory.  But  we  weep  for  ourselves.  For  a  true 
friend  of  God,  who  has  been  faithful  and  humble,  we  can  only 
rejoice  at  his  happiness,  and  at  the  blessing  that  he  has  left 
upon  those  who  belonged  to  him  on  earth.  Let  your  grief  then 
be  soothed  by  the  hand  of  Him  who  has  afflicted  you.— 
fcnelon. 


If  we  are  sorrowing  under  a  misfortune,  of  which  this  world 
affords  no  alleviation,  the  death  of  those  most  dear  to  us,  let 
us  humbly  offer  to  our  God  the  beloved  whom  we  have  lost. 
And  what  (after  all)  have  we  lost? — the  remaining  days  of  a 
being,  whom  we  indeed  loved,  but  whose  happiness  we  do  not 
consider  in  our  regret ;  who,  perhaps,  was  not  happy  here,  but 
who  certainly  must  be  much  happier  with  God ;  and  whom  we 
shall  meet  again,  not  in  this  dark  and  sorrowful  scene,  but  in 
the  bright  regions  of  eternal  day,  and  partaking  in  the  inex- 
pressible happiness  of  eternity. — Fenelon. 


Thus  it  is  with  God;  His  parental  heart  does  not  wish  to 
grieve  us ;  He  must  wound  us  to  the  very  heart,  that  He  may 
cure  its  malady.  He  must  take  from  us  what  is  most  dear, 
lest  we  love  it  too  much,  lest  we  love  it  to  the  prejudice  of  our 
love  for  Him.  We  weep,  we  despair,  we  groan  in  our  spirits, 
and  we  murmur  against  God ;  but  He  leaves  us  to  our  sorrow, 
and  we  are  saved;  our  present  grief  saves  us  from  an  eternal 
sorrow.  He  has  placed  the  friends  whom  He  has  taken  from 
us  in  safety,  to  restore  them  to  us  in  eternity.  He  has  deprived 
us  of  them,  that  He  may  teach  us  to  love  them  with  a  pure 
love,  a  love  that  we  may  enjoy  in  His  presence  forever;  He 
confers  a  greater  blessing  than  we  were  capable  of  desiring. — 
Fenelon. 


In  another  life  we  shall  see  and  understand  the  wonders  of 
His  goodness,  that  have  escaped  us  in  this,  and  we  shall  rejoice 
at  what  has  made  us  weep  on  earth.     Alas,  in  our  present 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  257 

darkness,  we  cannot  see  either  our  true  good  or  evil.  If  God 
were  to  gratify  our  desires,  it  would  be  our  ruin.  He  saves  us 
by  breaking  the  ties  that  bind  us  to  earth.  We  complain 
because  God  loves  us  better  than  we  know  how  to  love  our- 
selves. We  weep  because  He  has  taken  those  whom  we  love 
away  from  temptation  and  sin.  We  would  possess  all  that 
delights  and  flatters  our  self-love,  though  it  might  lead  us  to 
forget  that  we  are  exiles  in  a  strange  land.  God  takes  the 
poisonous  cup  from  our  hands,  and  we  weep  as  a  child  weeps 
when  its  mother  takes  away  the  shining  weapon  with  which 
it  would  pierce  its  own  breast. — Fenclon. 


Have  you  lost,  by  death,  an  object  in  whom  your  heart  Vv^as 
bound  up;  who  was  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  life  and  its  pros- 
perity, and  in  whose  society  you  hoped  for  many  years  of 
enjoyment?  Oh!  consider  (ere  you  accuse  Providence  for  the 
stroke)  that  this  death  (apparently  so  untimely)  is,  possibly, 
the  greatest  instance  towards  you,  both  of  the  mercy  and  love 
of  God.  The  creature  so  dear  to  you,  may  have  been  taken 
from  some  sad  reverse  of  fortune  or  from  the  commission  of 
some  great  crime,  which  might  have  endangered  his  salvation. 
To  secure  this,  therefore,  God  has  removed  him  from  tempta- 
tion. The  same  loss  is,  perhaps,  a  call  from  God  to  yourself, 
and  is  intended  to  awaken  you  from  that  attachment  which 
was  binding  you  too  fast  to  this  world,  and  causing  you  to 
forget  your  Creator.  Thus  the  stroke  which,  to  secure  his 
future  happiness,  takes  him  from  the  evil  to  come,  detaches 
you  from  the  world,  and  warns  you  to  prepare  for  your  own 
death,  through  that  of  one  so  dear  to  you.  The  pang  of  sepa- 
ration is,  indeed,  most  bitter,  yet  our  merciful  Father  does  not 
needlessly  afflict  His  creatures.  He  wounds,  only  to  heal  the 
diseases  of  our  souls.  Let  us,  then,  in  the  hour  of  calamity, 
hold  fast  by  this  conviction,  and  say  with  Job,  "Though  He 
slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  Him."  His  mercy  can  be  my  sup- 
port here,  and  my  abundant  recompense  hereafter. — Fenelon. 


How  beautiful  and  affecting  is  the  following  language  of  a 
wise  and  good  parent,  respecting  his  dead  children,  used  in 
prayer  to  God,  by  the  late  William  Hay,  Esq.,  surgeon,  Leeds : 

17— Vol.  X. 


258  SOIvACE  I^OR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

"I  would  offer  my  most  hearty  and  solemn  thanksgivings, 
for  thy  mercies  shown  to  my  dear  children.  Four  of  them 
thou  werst  pleased  to  call  out  of  this  dangerous  and  sinful 
world  during  the  state  of  infancy.  I  surrendered  them  to  thee 
in  thy  holy  ordinance  of  baptism,  and  committed  them  to  thy 
disposal.  Thou  didst  remove  them,  ere  the  pollutions  of  this 
world  had  led  their  corrupt  hearts  astray,  and  I  humbly  hope 
thou  didst  receive  them  to  thy  glory.  Concerning  the  other 
four  whom  thou  hast  called  hence  in  adult  age,  thou  hast 
graciously  given  me  the  most  solid  hopes.  Though  by  nature 
children  of  wrath,  even  as  others,  thou  wast  pleased  to  awaken 
them  to  a  sense  of  the  odious  nature  of  sin,  and  to  grant  them 
true  repentance.  They  were  early  taught  by  thy  grace  to  flee 
for  refuge  to  the  friend  of  sinners,  and  thou  didst  prolong 
their  lives  till  they  had  given  clear  proofs  of  a  sound  conver- 
sion. Though  prepared,  as  I  hope,  to  glorify  thee  on  earth, 
thou  didst  dispense  with  their  services,  and  didst  remove  them 
hence  in  the  beginning  of  their  usefulness.  But  thy  grace  was 
with  them.  In  their  sickness,  and  at  the  approach  of  death, 
they  were  enabled  to  rejoice  in  thy  salvation.  The  last  of 
them  I  am  this  day  to  commit  to  the  silent  grave,  but  in  sure 
and  certain  hope  of  a  joyful  resurrection  to  eternal  life.  What 
shall  I  render  to  thee  for  all  thy  mercies !  O  that  my  future 
life  might  more  abundantly  show  forth  thy  praise!"  Attend, 
ye  parents,  to  these  sentiments  of  devotion.  The  only  way  to 
part  with  your  cliildren  v/ith  resignation  and  hope,  should  they 
be  removed  from  you  by  the  stroke  of  death,  is  to  dedicate 
them  to  the  Lord  of  all,  and  to  bring  them  up  for  His  service 
and  glory. 


Quinctilian's  letter  upon  the  death  of  his  two  sons,  one  of 
V.  horn  was  a  youth  highly  accomplished,  and  of  great  promise, 
is  beautiful  aiud  touching.  But  in  it  he  boasts  of  his  impatience, 
thinks  it  necessary  to  excuse  himself  for  having  survived  the 
stroke,  denies  the  doctrine  of  a  Divine  superintendence  over 
the  affairs  of  men,  accuses  the  gods  of  spite  and  injustice,  and 
says  his  tolerance,  not  his  love  of  life,  will  revenge  his  son 
for  the  rest  of  his  days.  This  was  all  that  ethics  could  do  to 
calm  his  mind.     What  will  an  infidel  say  to  such  a  scene  as 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAV^ED  PARENTS.  259 

contrasted  with  the  faith  and  patience  of  the  saints?  Will  he 
say  that  their  meek  endurance  is  the  fruit  of  advanced 
philosophy  ?  Quinctilian  lived  in  an  age  enlightened  by  litera- 
ture, but  Rome  was  far  behind  Jerusalem  in  the  sublimities 
of  moral  precept,  because  the  true  light  had  not  radiated  its 
horizon.  And  then  see  how  Job  acted,  though  in  a  ruder  age, 
and  surrounded  by  idolatry.  Revelation  cast  a  bright  hue  of 
heaven  over  all  his  sorrows. — Dr.  Lawson. 


God  is  righteous  in  taking  from  us.  He  is  merciful  in  spar- 
ing to  us  what  He  has  not  taken.  If  it  had  pleased  God  to 
cut  off  the  half  of  our  families,  it  would  have  been  our  duty 
to  have  given  Him  thanks  that  the  other  half  was  left.  I  bless 
God  for  the  hope  of  seeing  those  whom  I  have  lost  with  greater 
pleasure  than  ever,  but  I  have  still  more  reason  to  bless  Him 
for  the  gift  of  His  own  Son  to  such  unworthy  creatures  as  I 
am,  that  through  faith  in  Him  I  may  have  everlasting  life. — 
Dr.  Lawson. 


When  God  imposes  a  sacrifice  upon  us,  or  takes  from  us 
some  object,  He  does  not  leave  us  to  endure  the  stroke  unsus- 
tained;  but  if  through  the  veil  of  sorrow  which  He  spreads 
over  us,  we  look  up  to  Him,  we  shall  by  the  means  of  our 
mortal  trials,  reap  everlasting  joys.  We  are  not  to  enquire 
of  God  why  He  appoints  us  such  trials,  when  we  behold  others 
exempt  from  them.  Can  we  say  how  long  our  hitherto  more 
fortunate  fellow-creatures  may  continue  untried  with  the  like 
calamities?  It  may  be,  that  God  sees  we  have  most  need  of 
them:  If  we  are  faithful  in  what  we  understand,  how  limited 
soever  our  imperfect  view  may  be  of  God's  dealings  with  us. 
we  shall  find  rest  unto  our  souls,  until  it  please  God  to 
dissolve  our  earthly  tabernacle,  ^^'e  know,  that  then  we  shall 
have  a  building  of  God,  a  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal 
in  the  heavens.  Let  us,  therefore,  follow  continually  that 
gitiding  star,  which  beams  upon  our  darkened  way.  Let  us, 
with  a  willing  and  steady  mind,  embrace  the  occasions  which 
each  day  may  offer  us  of  advancing  towards  our  heavenly 
country,  where  we  shall  find  our  everlasting  home.  This  is 
our  daily  bread,  our  manna  in  the  wilderness  of  life :  with  this 


260  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 

let  US  be  content.  If  we  presumptuously  seek  to  look  into 
futurity,  our  endeavours  will  be  like  the  forbidden  provision 
of  the  Israelites,  not  only  superfluous,  but  noxious  to  our- 
selves.— Fenelon. 


THE  TEACHING  OF  BAPTISM. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  feelings  with  which  parents  should 
retire  from  the  baptismal  service. 

It  is  a  solemn  moment  when  they  take  the  child  away  from 
the  altar.  They  have  given  it  to  God ;  and  they  bear  it  away, 
as  the  mother  of  Moses  did  her  own  son,  to  bring  it  up  for, 
another,  who,  in  this  case,  is  God.  They  have,  by  their  vows, 
promised  that  the  will  of  God  concerning  their  child  shall  be 
their  will,  so  that  the  question  of  its  life  or  death  is  left 
implicitly  with  him.  Though  their  hearts  will  bleed  if  it 
should  be  taken  away,  yet,  by  the  baptismal  service,  they  have 
engaged  to  consider  the  child  henceforth  as  entirely  at  God's 
disposal ;  and  whenever  they  look  upon  it  hereafter,  the  feeling 
which  they  are  to  have  is  expressed  by  these  words,  Sent,  not 
given.  If  it  dies,  they  will  remember  its  baptism  and  their 
vows,  and  the  peace  of  God,  which  passeth  all  understanding, 
will  steal  into  their  breaking  hearts.  If  it  lives,  it  is  to  be 
trained  up  for  that  God  to  whom  it  has  been  given. 


Very  soon  they  who  are  separated  will  be  reunited,  and 
there  will  appear  no  trace  of  the  separation.  They,  who  are 
about  to  set  upon  a  journey,  ought  not  to  feel  themselves  far 
distant  from  those  who  have  gone  to  the  same  country  a  few 
days  before.  Life  is  like  a  torrent ;  the  past  is  but  a  dream ; 
the  present,  while  we  are  thinking  of  it,  escapes  us,  and  is 
precipitated  into  the  same  abyss  that  has  swallowed  up  the 
past ;  the  future  will  not  be  of  a  different  nature,  it  will  pass 
as  rapidly.  A  few  moments,  and  a  few  more,  and  all  will  be 
ended;  what  has  appeared  long  and  tedious,  will  seem  short 
when  it  is  finished. — Fenelon. 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  261 

These  infant  buds,  therefore,  that  seem  nipt  on  earth,  are 
merely  removed  to  heaven,  there  to  unfold  themselves  in  ever- 
lasting bloom.  Nature  leaves  them  pining  upon  earth,  Grace 
takes  them  in  her  arms,  wraps  them  in  her  wami  bosom,  and 
wafts  them  away  to  the  better  land. 

"See,  then,  how  soon  the  flowers  of  life  decay. 
How  soon  terrestrial  pleasures  fade  away. 
A.  star  of  comfort  for  a  moment  giv'n. 
Just  rose  on  earth,  then  set  to  rise  in  heav'n. 
Redeem'd  by  God  from  sin,  releas'd  from  pain. 
Its  life  were  punishment,   its  death   is   gain. 
Though  it  be  hard  to  bid  thy  heart  divide. 
To  lay  the  gem  of  all  thy  love  aside. 
Faith  tells  thee,   (and  it  tells  thee  not  in  vain,) 
That  thou  shalt  meet  thine  infant  yet  again. 
While  yet  on  earth  thine  ever-circling  arms 
Held  it  securest  from  surrounding  harms  ; 
Yet  even  there  disease  could  aim  the  dart. 
Chill  the  warm  cheek,  and  stop  the  flutt'ring  heart ; 
No  ill  can  reach  it  now  ;  it  rests  above, 
Safe  in  the  bosom  of  celestial  love. 
Its  short,  but  yet  tempestuous  way,  is  o'er, 
And  tears  shall  trickle  down  its  cheek  no  more. 
Then  far  be  grief  ;  faith  looks  beyond  the  tomb, 
And  heav'ns  bright  portals  sparkle  through  the  gloom. 
If  bitter  thoughts  and  tears  in  heav'n  could  be, 
It  is  thine  infant  that  should  weep  for  thee." 

Mrs.  Wilson  writes  very  sweetly:  "It  is  only  my  child's 
mortal  part  that  rests  in  silence ;  his  spirit  is  with  God  in  His 
temple  above.  He  is  one  of  the  redeemed,  who  now  throng 
the  courts  of  heaven,  and  surround  the  throne  of  the  Most 
High.  Boundless  perfection  constitutes  his  felicity,  unceasing 
praises  dwell  upon  his  lips,  his  holiness  is  for  ever  perfected, 
and  his  affections  are  made  to  flow  in  ever-during  channels, 
toward  the  Source  of  infinite  perfection,  and  through  all  those 
subordinate  streams  where  it  is  distributed.  The  light  of 
heaven  encircles  him,  and  its  splendours  delight  his  soul.  His 
vision  is  unclouded,  and  penetrates  into  the  deep  things  of 
God.  I  see  him  among  the  glorious  throng,  now  bending  in 
holy  adoration  of  the  majesty  of  heaven,  now  a  commissioned 
messenger  of  mercy  to  other  and  far  distant  worlds.  Perhaps 
he  hovers  now  around  our  dwelling;  perhaps  he  will  stand  at 
heaven's  portals,  and  be  the  first  to  usher  us  into  the  presence 
chamber  of  the  King.  Shall  I  then  continue  to  shed  unavailing 
tears,  and  selfishly  repine  at  the  short,  the  momentary  separa- 
tion? He  will  never  return  to  us,  but  we  shall  go  to  him.  In 
regard  to  our  beloved  child,  we  can  take  up  the  triumphant 


262  solace;  for  bereaved  parents. 

song,  'O  death,  where  is  thy  sting?     O  grave,  where  is  thy 
victory  ?'  " 


THE  HOPE  OF  a  resurrection. 

Lavel. 

Let  those  mourn  without  measure,  who  mourn  without  hope. 
The  husbandman  does  not  mourn,  when  he  casts  his  seed  into 
the  ground.  He  expects  to  receive  it  again,  and  more.  The 
same  hope  have  we,  respecting  our  friends  who  have  died  in 
faith.  "I  would  not  have  you  ignorant,"  says  Paul,  "concern- 
ing them  who  are  asleep,  that  ye  sorrow  not  as  others  who 
have  no  hope;  for  if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again, 
even  so  also  them  who  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with 
Him."  He  seems  to  say,  "Look  not  on  the  dead  as  lost.  They 
are  not  annihilated.  Indeed,  they  are  not  dead.  They  only 
sleep;  and  they  sleep  to  awake  again."  You  do  not  lament 
over  your  children  or  friends,  while  slumbering  on  their  beds. 
Consider  death  as  a  longer  sleep,  from  which  they  shall  cer- 
tainly awake.  Even  a  heathen  philosopher  could  say,  that  he 
enjoyed  his  friends,  expecting  to  part  with  them;  and  parted 
v/ith  them,  expecting  to  see  them  again.  And  shall  a  heathen 
excel  a  Christian  in  bearing  affliction  with  cheerfulness? — If 
you  have  a  well-grounded  hope  that  your  deceased  friend  was 
interested  in  Christ,  ponder,  I  entreat  you,  the  precious  sup- 
ports afforded  by  the  doctrine  of  the  Resurrection  of  the  just. 


the  death  of  a  child  no  cause  of  despondency. 

Dejected  mourner,  bereft,  as  you  seem,  of  all  joy,  you  have 
no  cause  for  despondency.  O  that  you  realized  what  blessings 
God  has  to  bestow  on  those  who  submissively  wait  on  Him  in 
their  affliction!  He  has  consolations  far  transcending  the  joy 
of  children.  So  others  have  found.  An  eminently  pious  man, 
having  lost  an  only  son,  retired  for  some  hours  to  his  closet, 
and  then  came  forth  with  such  a  cheerful  countenance,  that  all 
who  saw  him  were  filled  with  surprise.  Being  asked  an  expla- 
nation of  this,  he  replied,  that  he  had  enjoyed,  in  his  retire- 
ment, that  which,  if  renewed,  might  well  reconcile  him  to  part 


SOLACU  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  263 

with  a  son  every  day.  O  how  great  the  disproportion  between 
the  light  of  God's  countenance,  and  the  best,  the  sweetest  of 
created  enjoyments! 


We  are  forbidden  to  murmur,  but  we  are  not  forbidden  to 
regret;  and  whom  we  loved  tenderly  while  living,  we  may  still 
pursue  with  an  affectionate  remembrance,  without  having 
any  occasion  to  charge  ourselves  with  rebellion  against  the 
sovereignty  that  appointed  a  separation. — Cowper. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Poetical  Selections. 

The  Poet  is  the  interpreter  of  the  human  heart — the 
expounder  of  its  mysteries.  An  utterance  is  given  to  him, 
which  is  denied  to  others,  even  although  their  feelings  may  be 
akin  to  his  own.  Through  him  Truth  speaks:  and  wild  or 
wayward  as  may  seem  her  revelations,  yet  it  is  the  common 
sentiment,  the  universal  emotion,  she  speaks ;  she  gives  the 
germ  of  a  nobler  principle,  the  incentive  to  a  higher  hope. 

BY  THE  BEDSIDE  OF  A  SICK  CHILD. 
David,  therefore,  besought  God  for  the  child. — 2  Sam,  xii.  16. 

Now  all  is  done  that  love,  and  care. 

And   skilful  kindness   could  suggest ; 
And  He  who  heard  our  anxious  prayer. 

Will  answer  as  His  love  thinks  best: 
O,  that  both  hopes  and  fears  were  still 
Waiting  on  His  mysterious  will. 

And  yet,  both  hopes  and  fears  will  crowd 

Around  that  bright  and  precious  child  ; 
And  both  will  speak  their  thoughts  aloud. 

Till  this  distracted  heart  is  wild  : 

0  might  they  all  give  place  to  one 

Heart  filling  prayer, — "God's  will  be  done." 

Sometimes  a  dream  of  what  may  be. 
Comes,  like  soft  sunshine,  o'er  the  heart ; 

1  hear  his  prattle  at  my  knee. 

Feel  his  warm  cheek  near  mine,  and  start 
To  find  it — ah  !  so  cold  and  pale. 
That  hope  (and  well-nigh  faith)  doth  fail. 

And  then,  again,  the  dream  returns, — 

Childhood  and  youth  are  safely  o'er ; 
His  eye  with  manhood's  ardour  burns. 

Tears  hover  round  his  path  no  more : 
Hopes,  with  their  buds  and  blossoms,  all 
Burst,  where  his  bounding  footsteps  fall. 

He  seems  to  speak — with  anxious  ear. 

My  very  heart  waits  breathless  by ; 
His  lips  are  parted, — and  I  hear, 

My  precious  babe,  thy  restless  cry  ; — 
E'en  hope,  affrighted,  flees  away. 
As  if  it  had  no  heart  to  stay. 

Come,  then,  my  God,  and  take  the  place 

Of  these  distracting  hopes  and  fears  ; 
'Stablish  this  trembling  heart  with  grace, 

Dry  with  Thine  hand  these  falling  tears  ; 
And  teach  me  to  confide  in  Thee 
The  treasure  Thou  couldst  trust  with  me. 


SOI^ACR  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  26i 


Happy  if,  rescued  from  the  trait 
Of  being  called  on  to  decide, 

Here  with   submissive  soul,  I  wait, 
By  Thy  decision  to  abide, — 

Life,  with  its  blessings  and  its  pain, 

Or  death,  with  its,  "to  die  is  gain." 


THE  SICK  CHILD'S  DREAM  OF  HEAVEN. 

'"And  bade  me  be  glad  to  die." 

By  Robert  Nicoll,  Scotland's  Second  Burns. 

"O  mither,  mither,  my  head  was  sair, 

And  my  een  wi'  tears  were  weet. 
But  the  pain  has  gone  for  evermair, 

Sae  mither  dinna  greet : 
And  I  ha'e  had  sic  a  bonnie  dream, 

Since  last  asleep  I  fell, 
O'  a'  that  is  holy  an'  gude  to  name. 

That  I  have  wauken'd  my  dream  to  tell. 

I  thought  on  the  morn  o'  a  simmer  day. 

That  awa'  through  the  clouds  I  flew, 
While  my  silken  hair  did  wavin'  play 

'Mang   breezes   steep'd   in   dew  ; 
And  the  happy  things  o'  life  and  light 

Were  around  my  gowden  way, 
As  they  stood  in  their  parent  Heaven's  sight 

In  the  hames  o'  nightless  day. 

An'  songs  o'  love  that  nae  tongue  may  tell, 

Frae  their  hearts  cam'  flowin'   free, 
Till  the  starns  stood  still,  while  alang  did  sweU 

The  plaintive  melodie  : 
And  ane  o'  them  sang  wi'  my  mither's  voice, 

Till  through  my  heart  did  gae 
That  chanted  hymn  o'  my  bairnhood  choice, 

Sae  dowie,  saft,  an'  wae. 

Thae  happy  things  o'  the  glorious  sky 

Did  lead  me  far  away. 
Where  the  stream  o'  life  rins  never  dry. 

Where  nathing  kens  decay  ; 
And  they  laid  me  down  in  a  mossy  bed, 

Wi'  curtains  o'  spring  leaves  green, 
And  the  name  o'  God  they  praying  said, 

And  a  light  came  o'er  my  een. 

And  I  saw  the  earth  that  I  had  left. 

And  I  saw  my  mither  there ; 
And  I  saw  her  grieve  that  she  was  bereft 

O'  the  bairn  she  thought  sae  fair ; 
And  I  saw  her  pine  till  her  spirit  fled — 

Like  a  bird  to  its  young  one's  nest — 
To  that  land  of  love  ;  and  my  head  was  laid 

Again  on  my  mither's  breast. 

And  mither,  ye  took  me  by  the  hand. 

As  ye  were  wont  to  do  ; 
And  your  loof,  sae  saft  and  white,  I  fand 

Laid  on  my  caller  brow  : 
And  my  lips  you  kiss'd,  and  my  curling  hair 

You  round  your  fingers  wreath'd  ; 
And  I  kent  that  a  happy  mither's  prayer 

Was  o'er  me  silent  breath'd ; 


266  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 


And  we  wander'd  through  that  happy  land, 

That  was  gladly  glorious  a' ; 
The  dwellers  there  were  an  angel  band, 

And  their  voices  o'  love  did  fa' 
On  our  ravish'd  ears  like  the  deein'  tones 

O'  an  anthem  far  away, 
In  a  star-lit  hour,  when  the  woodland  moans 

That  its  green  is  turned  to  grey. 

And,  mither,  amang  the  sorrowless  there, 

We  met  my  brithers  three, 
And  your  bonnie  May,  my  sister  fair, 

And  a  happy  bairn  was  she  ; 
And  she  led  me  awa'  'mang  living  flowers. 

As  on  earth  she  aft  has  done  ; 
And  thegither  we  sat  in  the  holy  bowers. 

Where  the  blessed  rest  aboon  ; — 

And  she  tauld  me  I  was  in  Paradise, 

Where  God  in   love  doth  dwell — 
Where  the  weary  rest,  and  the  mourner's  voice 

Forgets  its  warld-wail ; 
And  she  tauld  me  they  kent  na  dule  nor  care  ; 

And  bade  me  be  glad  to  dee. 
That  yon  sinless  land  and  the  dwellers  there 

Might  be  hame  and  kin  to  me. 

Then  sweetly  a  voice  came  on  my  ears. 

And  it  sounded  sae  holily. 
That  my  heart  grew  saft,  and  blabs  o'  tears 

Sprung  up  in  my  sleepin'  e'e ; 
And  my  inmost  soul  was  sairly  moved 

Wi'  its  mair  than  mortal  joy  ; — 
'Twas  the  voice  o'  Him  wha  baimies  lov'd 

That  waken'd  your  dreamin'  boy!" 


THE  BEREAVED. 
By  Robert  Nicoll. 

They're  a'  gane  thegither.  Jeanie — 

They're  a'  gane  thegither : 
Our  bairns  aneath  the  cauldrife  yird 

Are  laid  wi'  ane  anither. 
Sax  lads  and  lasses  Death  has  ta'en 

Frae  father  an'  frae  mither  ; 
But  O !  we  manna  greet  and  mane — 

They're  a'  on  hie  thegither,  Jeanie — 

They're  a'  on  hie  thegither. 

Our  eild  will  now  be  drearie,  Jeanie — 

Our  eild  will  now  be  drearie  : 
Our  young  an'  bonnie  bairns  ha'e  gane, 

An'  left  our  hame  fu'  eerie. 
'Neath  Age's  hand  we  now  may  grane — 

In  poortith  cauld  may  swither : 
The  things  that  toddled  but  an'  ben 

Are  a'  on  hie  thegither,  Jeanie — 

Are  a'  on  hie  thegither. 

Now  sorrow  may  come  near  us,  Jeanie — 
Now  sorrow  may  come  near  us : 

The  buirdly  chields  are  lyin'  low 
Wha  wadna  let  it  steer  us. 

The  bonnie  lasses  are  awa' 

What  came  like  sun-glints  hither. 


SOLACIC  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  267 


To  fill  wi'  joy  their  father's  ha' — 

They're  a'   on   hie  thegither,  Jeanie — 
They're  a'  on  hie  thegither. 

In  the  kirkyard  they're  skepin',  Jeanie— 

In  the  kirkyard  they're  sleepin' : 
It  may  be  grieves  their  happy  souls 

To  see  their  parents  weepin'. 
They're  on  to  bigg  a  hame  for  us, 

Where  flowers  like  them  ne'er  wither, 
Amang  the  starns  in   love  an'   bliss — 

They're  a'   on   hie  thegither,  Jeanie — 

They're  a'  on  hie  thegither. 


ON  THE  DEATH  OF  AN  INFANT  SON. 

A  Parental  Sketch  by  the  Author. 

The  midnight  bell  had  toll'd — and  earliest  bird 
Had   loud   proclaimed   the   break   of   coming   day, 
While  yet  the  stars  kept  watch  at  gate  of  heaven, 
And  night  winds  sighed  among  the  leafless  trees. 
But  not  to  seek  repose  had  now  retired 
The  gathered  inmates  of  that  cherished  home. 
In  silence,  sad,  they  stand  collected  round 
The  couch,  on  which  is  laid  a  suffering  babe. 
The  sun  his  yearly  round  had  not  yet  closed, 
Since  first  that  babe  was  ushered  to  the  light, 
Most  welcome  gift  from  God's  paternal  hand. 
In  form  most  fair  and  perfect.     In  spirit 
Warm,  afifectionate,  and  ever  mild. 
His  capacious  brow,  and  eye  intelligent. 
Gave  noble  promise  of  the  mighty  powers 
Still  latent,  but  fast  bursting  into  life. 
His  parents  loved  him  much.     Their  hearts  had  bled. 
The  darksome  tomb  within  its  bosom  closed 
The  buried   forms  of  other  children  dear. 
They  therefore  clung  to  him  as  to     the  dead 
Revived — the  lost  ones  found — their  light  and  life. 
For  joy  o'er  him  they  had  forgotten 
The  bitter  anguish  of  that  dreadful  hour, 
When  two  fair  buds  of  life  lay  crushed  and  torn. 
Most  sweet  it  was  to  see  this  opening  flower 
Expand  its  leaves  and  breathe  its  fragrance  forth — 
To  hear  his  infant  prattle — to  behold 
His  looks  ot  love,  his  first,  light,  gladsome  steps. 
And  all  the  graces  of  blest  infancy. 
How  have  I  clasped  him  to  this  doting  heart. 
In  all  the  ecstacy  of  imtold  joy  ; 
And  felt,  while  round  my  neck  his  fond  arms  clung 
And  his  soft  cheek  press'd  mine,  that  depth  of  bliss 
Unutterable,  which  only  parents  know. 
But  he  was  not  a  destined  heir  of  earth. 
Nor  long  to  tread  its  pilgrimage  of  woe. 
An  angel  he — an  elect  child  of  grace — 
An  heir  of  bliss — a  heaven-ward  voyager. 
His  vacant  throne  for  him  was  kept  reserved, 
And  sister  spirits  longed  to  see  him  come. 
A  glorious  crown  of  life,  a  sceptre  bright. 
And  glittering  robes,  awaited  him  above. 
God  had  now  called  His  child,  and  forth  had  sent 
The  ministering  host  to  guard  him  home. 
And  swift  to  loose  his  bonds  of  earthly  mould. 
To  fierce  disease  had  given  him  a  prey. 
For  ten  long  days  and  nights  the  secret  foe. 
Invisible,  his  dread  commission  filled. 


268  SOLACE  FOR  BERKAVED  PARENTS. 


And  baffled  all  the  art  of  human  skill ; 

Till  now  at  length  in  death's  last  struggles  lay 

The  sinking  form  of  that  most  blessed  child. 

No  cry  escaped  his  lips — no  sigh  his  breast — 

Nor  sign  of  murmuring  by  him  was  given. 

But  calm  he  lay — as  in  God's  arms  outspread — 

As  into  heaven  he  cast  his  blissful  gaze, 

And  even  then  had  taste  of  joys  to  come. 

It  was  the  theme  of  all — I  picture  not — 

How  unrepiningly  he  met  his  fate — 

Amid  despair,  most  tranquil  and  serene  ; 

With  tearless  eyes,  while  none  around  were  dry, 

Outworn  with  agony  he  now  lay  stretched 

Upon  his  downy  pillow,  there  to  die. 

Resigned  by  parents'  arms,  he  bid  farewell 

to  earthly  scenes  and  all  terrestrial  joy. 

His  bright  eye  dimmed — his  palsied  limbs  lay  cold 

And  motionless.     His  heaving  breast  rose  high — 

Till  with  a  dove-like  wail  he  sunk  to  rest. 

God  speed  thee  in  thy  flight,  my  blessed  boy ! 
Let  angel  bands  conduct  thee  safe  to  heaven, 
There  with  thy  sisters  dear  to  share  its  bliss  ! 
Thou  wert  to  me  the  dearest  joy  of  earth. 
And  I  would  now  rejoice  with  thee  above. 
And  chide  my  selfish  grief  with  thoughts  of  thee, 
As  now  enroll'd  among  the  cherub  throng. 
Farewell,  my  boy  !  no  more  thy  smile  I'll  see 
Till  thee  I  meet  around  the  throne  of  God. 
But  never  from   his  heart  shall  pass  away 
Thy  dying  form,  and  that  last  dying  wail. 

Charleston.  Nov.  27th,  1841. 


A  MOTHER'S  LAMENT. 

Montgomery. 

I  loved  thee,  daughter  of  my  heart ; 

My  child,  I  loved  thee  dearly  ; 
And  though  we  only  met  to  part, 

— How  sweetly  !  how  severely  ! — 
Nor  life  nor  death  can  sever 
My  soul  from  thine  forever. 

Thy  days,  my  little  one,  were  few  ; 

An  angel's  morning  visit, 
That  came  and  vanish'd  with  the  dew  ; 

'Twas  here,  'tis  gone,  where  is  it? 
Yet  did'st  thou  leave  behind  thee 
A  clue  for  love  to  find  thee. 

The  eye,  the  lip,  the  cheek,  the  brow, 
The  hands  stretch'd  forth  in  gladness, 

All  life,  joy,  rapture,  beauty  now  ; 
Then  dash'd  with  infant  sadness  ; 

Till  brightening  by  transition, 

Return'd  the  fairy  vision  : — 

Where  are  they  now? — those  smiles,  those  tears. 

Thy  mother's  darling  treasure? 
She  sees  them  still,  and  still  she  hears 

Thy  tones  of  pain  or  pleasure, 
To  her  quick  pulse  revealing 
Unutterable  feeling. 


SOLACI;  FOR  BI-REAVED  PARENTS.  269 


Hush'd  in  a  moment  on  her  breast, 
Life,  at  the  well-spring  drinking  ; 

Then  cradled  on  her  lap  to  rest 
In  rosy  slumber  sinking. 

Thy  dreams — no  thought  can  guess  them  ; 

And  mine — no  tongue  express  them. 

For  then  this  waking  eye  could  see, 

In  many  a  vain  vagary. 
The  things  that  never  were  to  be. 

Imaginations  airy  ; 
Fond  hopes  that  mothers  cherish, 
Like  still-born  babes  to  perish. 

Mine  perish'd  on  thy  early  bier  ; 

No, — changed  to  forms  more  glorious, 
They  flourish  in  a  higher  sphere, 

O'er  time  and  death  victorious  ; 
Yet  would  these  arms  have  chain'd  thee, 
And  long  from  heaven  detain'd  thee. 

Sarah  !  my  last,  my  youngest  love. 

The  crown  of  every  other  ! 
Though  thou  art  born  in  heaven  above, 

I   am  thine  only  mother. 
Nor  will  aiTection  let  me 
Believe  thou  canst  forget  me. 

Then, — thou  in  heaven  and  I  on  earth, — 
May  this  one  hope  delight  us,_ 

That  thou  wilt  hail  my  second  birth. 
When  death  shall  reunite  us, 

Where  worlds  no  more  can  sever 

Parent  and  child  for  ever. 


THE  THREE  SONS  ;  OR,  FAITH  TRIUMPHANT. 

By  Rev.  J.  Moultrie,  A.  M. 

I. 

I  have  a  son,  a  little  son, 

A  boy  just  five  years  old, 
With  eyes  of  thoughtful  earnestness, 

A  mind  of  gentle  mould. 

They  tell  me  that  unusual  grace 

In  all  his  ways  appears, 
That  my  child  is  grave,  and  wise  of  heart. 

Beyond  his  childish  years. 

I  cannot  say  how  this  may  be, 

I  know  his  face  is  fair, 
And  yet  his  chiefest  comeliness 

Is  his  sw€et  and  serious  air. 

I  know  his  heart  is  kind  and  fond, 

I  know  he  loveth  me. 
But  he  loveth  yet  his  mother  more. 

With  grateful  fervency. 

But  that  which  others  most  admire. 

Is  the  thought  that  fills  his  mind. 
The   food   for  grave,   inspiring  speech, 

He  everywhere  doth  find. 


270  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS, 


Strange  questions  doth  he  ask  of  me, 

When  we  together  walk  ; 
He  scarcely  thinks  as  children  think, 

Or  talks  as  children  talk. 

Nor  cares  he  much  for  childish  sports, 

Dotes  not  on  bat  or  ball. 
But  looks  on  manhood's  ways  and  works, 

And  aptly  mimics  all. 

His   little  heart  is  busy  still. 

And  oftentimes  perplexed 
With  thoughts  about  this  world  of  ours. 

And  thoughts  about  the  next. 

He  kneels  at  his  dear  mother's  knees. 

She  teaches  him  to  pray. 
And  strange,  and  sweet,  and  solemn,  then. 

Are  the  words  which  he  will  say. 

Oh,  should  my  gentle  child  be  spared. 

To  manhood's  years,  like  me, 
A  holier  and  a  wiser  man 

I  trust  that  he  will  be. 

And  when  I  look  into  his  eyes, 

And  on  his  thoughtful  brow. 
I  dare  not  think  what  I  should  feel, 

Were  I  to  lose  him  now. 

II. 

I  have  a  son,  a  second  son, 

A  simple  child  of  three  ; 
I'll  not  declare  how  bright  and  fair 

His  little  features  be. 

I  do  not  think  his  light  blue  eye 

Is  like  his  brother's  keen. 
Nor  his  brow  so  full  of  childish  thought 

As  his  hath  ever  been. 

But  his  little  heart's  a  fountain  pure. 

Of  kind  and  tender  feeling. 
And  his  every  look's  a  gleam  of  light, 

Rich  depths  of  love  revealing. 

When  he  walks  with  me,  the  country  folk. 

Who  pass  us  in  the  street. 
Will  shout  for  joy,  and  bless  my  boy, 

He  looks  so  mild  and  sweet. 

A  playfellow  is  he  to  all. 

And  yet.  with  cheerful  tone, 
Will  sing  his  little  song  of  love, 

When  left  to  sport  alone. 

His  presence  is  like  sunshine,  sent 

To  gladden  home,  the  earth. 
To  comfort  us  in  all  our  griefs. 

And  sweeten  all  our  mirth. 

Should  he  grow  up  to  riper  years, 
God  grant  his  heart  may  prove, 

As  sweet  a  home  for  heavenly  grace. 
As  now  for  earthly  love. 

And  if,  beside  his  grave,  the  tears 

Our  aching  eyes  must  dim, 
God  comfort  us  for  all  the  love 

Which  we  shall  lose  in  him. 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  271 


III. 

I  have  a  son,  a  third  sweet  son, 

His  age  I  cannot  tell, 
For  they  reckon  not  by  years  and  months. 

Where  he  hath  gone  to  dwell. 

To  us,  for  fourteen  anxious  months. 

His  infant  smiles  were  given, 
And  then  he  bade  farewell  to  earth, 

And  went  to  live  in  heaven. 

I  cannot  tell  what  form  is  his. 

What  looks  he  weareth  now, 
Nor  guess  how  bright  a  glory  crowns 

His  shining  seraph  brow. 

The  thoughts  that  fill  his  sinless  soul. 

The  bliss  which  he  doth  feel, 
Are  numbered  with  the  secret  things 

Which  God  will  not  reveal. 

But  I  know,  for  God  hath  told  me  this. 

That  he  is  now  at  rest, 
Where  other  blessed  infants  are. 

On  their  Saviour's  loving  breast. 

Whate'er  befalls  his  brethren  twain, 

His  bliss  can  never  cease  ; 
Their  lot  may  here  be  grief  and  fear. 

But  his  is  certain  peace. 

It  may  be  that  the  tempter's  wiles 
Their  souls  from  bliss  may  sever, 

But,  if  our  own  poor  faith  fail  not, 
He  must  be  ours  forever. 

When  we  think  on  what  our  darling  is, 

And  what  we  still  must  be  ; 
When  we  muse  on  that  world's  perfect  bliss, 

And  this  world's  misery  ; 

When  we  groan  beneath  this  load  of  sin, 

And  feel  this  grief  and  pain, 
Oh.  we'd  rather  lose  our  other  two. 

Than  have  him  here  again. 


THE  DEATH  OF  THE  FIRST-BORN. 

Alaric  A.  Watts. 

"Fare  thee  well,  thou  first  and   fairest ! 
Fare  thee  well,  thou  best  and  dearest!" 

Burns. 

My  sweet  one,  my  sweet  one  !  the  tears  were  in  my  eyes 
When  first  I  clasped  thee  to  my  heart,  and  heard  thy  feeble  cries  ; — 
For  I  thought  of  all  that  I  had  borne  as  I  bent  me  down  to  kiss 
Thy  cherry  lip  and  sunny  brow,  my  first-born  bud  of  bliss ! 

I  turned  to  many  a  withered  hope. — to  years  of  grief  and  pain  ; — 
And  the  cruel  wrongs  of  a  bitter  world  flashed  o'er  by  boiling  brain — 
I  thought  of  friends  grown  worse  than  cold,  of  persecuting  foes, — 
And  I  asked  of  Heaven,  if  ills  like  these  must  mar  thy  youth's  repose! 

I  gazed  upon  thy  quiet  face — half  blinded  by  my  tears — 

Till  gleams  of  bliss,  unfelt  before,  came  brigtening  on  my  fears — 

Sweet  rays  of  hope  that  fairer  shone  'raid  the  cloud  of  gloom  that  bound 

them. 
As   stars   dart  down   their   loveliest   light   M'hen   midnight   skies   are   round 

them. 


272  SOLACE  FOR  BERKAVED  PARENTS. 

My  sweet  one,  my  sweet  one  !  thy  life's  brief  hour  is  o'er. 

And  a  father's  anxious  fears  for  thee  can  fever  me  no  more  ; 

And  for  the  hopes,  the  sunbright  hopes — that  blossomed  at  thy  birth — 

They  too  have  fled,  to  prove  how  frail  are  cherished  things  on  earth  ! 

*Tis  true  that  thou  were  young,  my  child,  but  though  brief  thy  span  below, 
To  me  it  was  a  little  age  of  agony  and  woe  ; 
For.  from  the  first  faint  dawn  of  life  thy  cheek  began  to  fade. 
And  my  heart  had  scarce  thy  welcome  breathed,  ere  my  hopes  were  wrapt 
in  shade. 

O  the  child,  in  its  hours  of  health  and  bloom,  that  is  dear  as  thou  were 

then. 
Grows  far  more  prized — more  fondly  loved — in  sickness  and  in  pain, 
And  thus  'twas  thine  to  prove,  dear  babe,  when  every  hope  was  lost. 
Ten  times  more  precious  to  my  soul — for  all  that  thou  hadst  cost ! 

Cradled  in  thy  fair  mother's  arms,  we  watched  thee  day  by  day. 
Pale,  like  the  second  bow  of  heaven,  as  gently  waste  away  ; 
And,  sick  with  dark  foreboding  fears,  we  dared  not  breathe  aloud, 
Sat  hand  in  hand,  in  speechless  grief,  to  wait  death's  coming  cloud. 

It  came  at  length  ;   o'er  thy  bright  blue  eye  the  film  was  gathering  fast, — 
And  an  awful  shade  passed  o'er  thy  brow,  the  deepest  and  the  last  ; — 
In  thicker  gushes  strove  thy  breath, — we  raised  thy  drooping  head, 
A  moment  more — the  final  pang — and  thou  wert  of  the  dead  ! 

Thy  gentle  mother  turned  away  to  hide  her  face  from  me. 
And  murmured  low  of  Heaven's  behests,  and  bliss  attained  by  thee  ; — 
She  would  have  chid  me  that  I  mourned  a  doom  so  blest  as  thine. 
Had  not  her  own  deep  grief  burst  forth  in  tears  as  wild  as  mine  ! 

We  laid  thee  down  in  sinless  rest,  and  from  thine  infant  brow 

Culled  one  soft  lock  of  radiant  hair — our  only  solace   now, — 

Then  placed    around    thy    beauteous    corse,    flowers,    not    more    fair    and 

sweet ; 
Twin  rosebuds  in  thy  little  hands,  and  jasmine  at  thy  feet. 

Though  other  offspring  still  be  ours,  as  fair  perchance  as  thou. 
With  all  the  beauty  of  thy  cheek — the  sunshine  of  thy  brow. 
They  never  can  replace  the  bud  our  early  fondness  nurst. 
They  may  be  lovely  and  beloved,  but  not  like  thee — the  first ! 

The  first !     How  many  a  memory  bright  that  one  sweet  word  can  bring 
Of  hopes  that  blossomed,  drooped,  and  died,  in  life's  delightful  spring; 
Of  fervid  feelings  passed  away — those  early  seeds  of  bliss, 
That  germinate  in  hearts  unsered,  by  such  a  world  as  this  ! 

My  sweet  one,  my  sweet  one,  my  fairest,  and  my  first ! 

When  I  think  of  what  thou  migh'st  have  been,  my  heart  is  like  to  burst ; 
But  gleams  of  gladness  through   the  gloom  their  soothing  radiance  dart. 
And  my  sighs  are  hush'd,  my  tears  are  dried,  when  I  turn  to  what  thou  art ! 

Pure  as  the  snow-flake  ere  it  falls  and  takes  the  stain  of  earth. 
With  not  a  taint  of  mortal  life,   except  thy  mortal  birth, — 
God  bade  thee  early  taste  the  spring  for  which  so  many  thirst ; 
And  bliss — eternal  bliss— is  thine,  my  fairest,  and  my  first ! 


HYMN  AT  THE  BURIAL  OF  AN  EMIGRANT'S  CHILD. 

By  Mrs.  Hemans. 

Where  the  long  reeds  quiver, 

Where  the  pines  make  moan. 
By  the  forest  river. 

Sleeps  our  babe  alone. 
England's  field-flowers  may  not  deck  our  grave, 
Cyprus  shadows  o'er  him  darkly  wave. 


SOI.ACE  FOR  BEREAVKD  PARENTS.  273 


Woods  unknown  receive  him, 

'Midst  the  mighty  wild  ; 
Yet  with  God  we  leave  him, 
Blessed,  blessed  child ! 
And  our  tears  gush  o'er  his  lonely  dust, 
Mournfully,  yet  still  from  hearts  of  trust. 

Though  his  eye  hath  brightened 

Oft  our  weary  way, 
And  his  clear  laugh  lightened 
Half  our  heart's  dismay  ; 
Still  in  hope  we  give  back  what  was  given, 
Yielding  up  the  beautiful  to  heaven. 

And  to  her  who  bore  him, 

Her  who  long  must  weep, 
Yet  shall  heaven  restore  him 
From  his  pale  sweet  sleep ! 
Those  blue  eyes  of  love  and  peace  again 
Through  her  soul  will  shine,  undimmed  by  pain. 

Where  the  long  reeds  quiver. 

Where  the  pines  make  moan, 
Leave  me  by  the  river, 
Earth  to  earth  alone ! 
God  and  Father!  may  our  joumeyings  on, 
Lead  to  where  the  blessed  boy  is  gone. 

From  the  exile's  sorrow, 

From  the  wanderer's  dread 
Of  the  night  and  morrow, 
Early,  brightly  fled  ; 
Thou  hast  called  him  to  a  sweeter  home. 
Than  our  lost  one  o'er  the  ocean's  foam. 

Now  let  thought  behold  him 

With  his  angel  look, 
Where  those  arms  enfold  him. 
Which  benignly  took 
Israel's  babes  to  their  good  Shepherd's  breast 
When  His  voice  their  tender  meekness  blest. 

Turn  thee  now,  fond  mother ! 

From  the  dead,  oh,  turn  ! 
Linger  not,  young  brother, 
Here  to  dream  and  mourn  : 
Only  kneel  once  more  around  the  sod. 
Kneel  and  bow  submissive  hearts  to  God ! 


THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  CHILD. 

An  angel  form  with  brow  of  light, 

Watch'd  o'er  a  sleeping  infant's  dream, 

And  gazed,  as  though  his  image  bright 
He  there  beheld  as  in  a  stream. 

''Fair  child,  whose  face  is  like  to  mine. 

Oh  come,"  he  said,  "and  fly  with  me ; 
Come  forth  to  happiness  divine. 
For  earth  is  all  unworthy  thee. 

"Here  perfect  bliss  thou  canst  not  know  ; 

The  soul  amidst  its  pleasures  sighs, 
All  sounds  of  joy  are  full  of  woe, 
Enjoyments  are  but  miseries. 


18— Vol.  X. 


274:  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS, 


"Fear  stalks  amidst  the  gorgeous  shows : 
And  tho'  serene  the  day  may  rise, 
It  lasts  not  brilliant  to  its  close, 
And  tempests  sleep  in  calmest  skies. 

"Alas !  shall  sorrow,  doubts  and  fears 
Deform  a  brow  so  pure  as  this  ! — 
And  shall  the  bitterness  of  tears 

Dim  those  blue  eyes  that  speak  of  bliss ! 

"No,  no !  along  the  realms  of  space, 
Far  from  all  care,  let  us  begone  : 
Kind  Providence  shall  give  thee  grace 

For  those  few  years  thou  might'st  live  on. 

"No  mourning  weeds,  no  sounds  of  wail 
Thy  chainless  spirit  shall  annoy  ; 
Thy  kindred  shall  thy  absence  hail. 
Even  as  thy  coming  gave  them  joy. 

"No  cloud  on  any  brow  shall  rest, 

Nought  speak  of  tombs  or  sadness  there  ; 
Of  beings,  like  thee,  pure  and  blest. 
The  latest  hour  shotild  be  most  fair." 

The  angel  shook  his  snowy  wings 
And  thro'  the  fields  of  ether  sped, 

Where  heaven's  eternal  music  rings — 
Mother — alas  !— thy  boy  is  dead  ! 


GONE— BUT  NOT  LOST. 

By  Mrs.  Ellen  Stone. 

Sweet  bud  of  Earth's  wilderness,  rifled  and  torn  ! 
Fond  eyes  have  wept  o'er  thee,   fond  hearts  still  will  mourn 
The  spoiler  hath  come,  with  his  cold  withering  breath, 
And  the  loved  and  the  cherished  lies  silent  in  death. 

He  felt  not  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day  ! 
He  hath  pass'd  from  this  earth,  and  its  sorrows,  away. 
With  the  dew  of  the  morning  yet  fresh  on  his  brow  : — 
Sweet  bud  of  Earth's  wilderness,  where  art  thoti  now  ? 

And  oh  !  do  ye  question,  with  tremulous  breath. 
Why  the  joy  of  our  household  lies  silent  in  death? 
Do  ye  mourn  round  the  place  of  his  perishing  dtist? 
Look  onward  and  upward,  with  holier  trust ! 

Who  Cometh  to  meet  him,  with  light  on  her  brow? 
What  angel  form  greets  him  so  tenderly  now  ? 
'Tis  the  pure  sainted  mother,  springs  onward  to  bear 
The  child  of  her  love  from  this  region  of  care  ! 

She  beareth  him  on  to  that  realm  of  repose. 
Where  no  cloud  ever  gathers,  no  storm  ever  blows  : 
For  the  Saviour  calls  home  to  the  mansions  above, 
This  frail  trembling  floweret  in  mercy  and  love. 

There  shall  he  for  ever,  unchanged  by  decay, 

Beside  the  still  waters  and  green  pastures  stray  ; 

And  there  shall  ye  join  him,  with  earth's  ransom'd  host — 

Look  onward  and  upward!  "he's  gone — but  not  lost!" 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS  275 

LINES  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  AN  ONLY  DAUGHTER. 

By  Mrs.  A.  L.  Angier. 

"I  cannot  feel  that  she  is  dead !"     With  arms  about  me  flung, 
Like  some  bright  jewel  round  my  neck,  but  yesterday  she  hung. 
I  cannot  feel  that  she  is  dead !     And  oft  with  throbbing  ear 
I  list  to  catch  her  shout  of  mirth  I  loved  so  well  to  hear. 

I  cannot  feel  that  she  is  dead !     And  at  her  cradle  side 

I  bend  to  watch  her  gentle  breath — my  blessing  and  my  pride ! 

I  cannot  feel  that  she  is  dead  !     This  ringlet  is  as  fair 

As  when  upon  her  sunny  brow  it  fell  in  beauty  there. 

I  cannot  feel  that  she  is  dead  !     Her  shadow  passes  by, 
In  every  form  of  grace  that  glides  before  my  wakeful  eye. 
And  when  I  sleep,  a  vision  bright  across  my  fancy  steals : 
The  smile,  the  tone,  the  look  of  love,  my  early  loss  reveals. 

Once  more  her  fairy  foot  I  hear  tread  lightly  on  the  stair, 
And  I  almost  anszver  to  the  call,  breathed  from  those  lips  of  air. 
The  rose  still  blooms,  she  fondly  nursed  in  spring's  soft,  vernal  hours  ; 
Alas !  that  she  should  soonest  fade,  the  fairest  of  the  flowers. 

Yet,  Mother,  though  thy  child  be  dead,  light  through  thy  darkness  streams. 
As  on  the  air  a  low  voice  falls,  like  music  in  our  dreams. 
To  soothe  thy  sadness,  quell  thy  grief,  and  check  thy  tears  'tis  given, 
While  thus  it  whispers — "I  have  found  a  better  home  in  heaven. 

"And  loved  ones,  as  ye  watched  o'er  me,  and  chased  away  my  fears, 
'Tis  mine  your  spirit-guard  to  be  through  this  dark  vale  of  tears. 
To  shield  from  sorrow,  save  from  ill,  and  fix  your  hopes  above — 
'Tis  this  shall  be  my  task  of  joy,  my  ceaseless  work  of  love  ; 
Till  in  the  realm  of  cloudless  light,  the  pure,  blest  spirit-land. 
Where  no  sad  thought  of  parting  comes,  you  join  our  seraph  band." 


THE  MOTHER'S  SACRIFICE. 

"God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver" 

Mrs.  L.  H.  Sigourney. 

"What  shall  I  render  thee.  Father  Supreme. 
For  thy  rich  gifts,  and  this  the  best  of  all  ?" 
Said  the  young  mother,  as  she  fondly  watched 
Her  sleeping  babe.     There  was  an  answering  voice 
That  night  in  dreams : — 

"Thou  hast  a  tender  flower 
Upon  thy  breast — fed  with  the  dews  of  love  : 
Send  me  that  flower.     Such  flowers  there  are  in  heaven. 
But  there  was  silence.     Yea,  a  hush  so  deep, 
Breathless  and  terror-stricken,  that  the  lip 
Blanched  in  its  trance. 

"Thou  hast  a  little  harp, — 
How  sweetly  would  it  swell  the  angel's  hymn  ! 
Yield  me  that  harp." 

There  rose  a  shuddering  sob. 
As  if  the  bosom  by  some  hidden  sword 
Was  cleft  in  twain. 

Morn  came — a  blight  had  found 
The  crimson  velvet  of  the  unfolding  bud. 
The  harp-strings  rang  a  thrilling  strain,  and  broke — 
And  that  young  mother  lay  upon  the  earth 
In  childless  agony.     Again  the  voice 
That  stirred  her  vision : 


276  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 


"He  who  asked  of  thee, 
Loveth  a  cheerful  giver."     So  she  raised 
Her  gushing  eyes,  and,  ere  the  tear-drop  dried 
Upon  its  fringes,  smiled — and  that  meek  smile, 
Like  Abraham's  faith,  was  counted  righteousness. 


DEATH  OF  AN  INFANT  SON. 

Farewell,  my  boy,  my  much  lov'd  boy ! 

Tears  oft  shall  flow  for  thee  : 
And  while  this  broken  heart  shall  beat 

Thou'lt  ne'er  forgotten  be. 

No  laughing  welcome  greets  me  now, 

As  I  approach  the  door ; 
Thy  footsteps  light  are  heard  no  more 

Upon  the  parlour  floor. 

Thy  merry  voice,  resounding  full 

Of  mirthful  song  and  glee, 
Is  silent  now, — no  more  thou'lt  smile 

Upon  thy  father's  knee. 

Thy  little  chair  is  empty  now 
At  our  once  gladsome  hearth  ; 

And  all  is  sad  and  gloomy  now. 
Where  all  was  joy  and  mirth. 

But  oh  !  he  only  sleeps  :  look  there, — 

How  beautiful  my  boy ! 
His  lips  are  red, — he  slumbers,  love, — 

It  is  indeed  my  boy. 

Come  near, — his  golden  ringlets  bind, 

And  softly,  sweetly  sing, 
As  thou  wert  wont  to  do.  my  love  ; 

O  strike  the  sweetest  string. 

And  he  will  smile  to  thee,  his  mother. 

When  he  awakes  again, 
And  clasp  thee  in  his  little  arms. 

And  make  thee  glad  again. 

And  yet  he  sleepeth  long,  love, — 

Fear  cometh  on  me  now : 
Ah  !  feel  that  cheek. — 'tis  cold,  'tis  cold, — 

And  colder  still  that  brow ! 

"Thou  said'st  he  slept, — O  why  deceive?' 

Yes !  he  but  sleepeth  still, 
But  'tis  the  sleep  of  death,  my  love, — 

It  is  our  Father's  will. 

Oh  !  come  with  me.  then,  to  His  throne. 

And  rev'rently  adore. 
And  kiss  the  Almighty  hand  that 

Afflicteth  us  so  sore. 

And,  oh  !  He'll  bless  and  comfort  us. 

He'll  not  forsake  us  now, 
When  waters  deep  encompass  us. 

And  Death  hath  bent  his  bow. 

And  tho'  by  Babel's  streams  we  weep. 
And  think  how  .glad  we've  been  ; 

Altho'  our  harps  in  silence  hang 
Upon  the  willows  green  ; 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  2^7 


O  still  our  God  will  gracious  lye : 
Forsake  us  will  He  never, 

Till  we  in  Zion  dwell  with 
Our  little  one — for  ever. 


THOUGHTS    WHILE    MAKING    A   GRAVE    FOR    A    FIRST    CHILD, 

BORN  DEAD. 

N.  P.  Willis. 

Rooin,  gentle  flowers !  my  child  would  pass  to  heaven  ! 

Ye  looked  not  for  her  yet  with  your  soft  eyes, 

O,  watchful  ushers  at  Death's  narrow  door  ! 

But  lo !  while  you  delay  to  let  her  forth. 

Angels,  beyond,  stay  for  her  !     One  long  kiss 

From  lips  all  pale  with  agony,  and  tears, 

Wrung  after  anguish  had  dried  up  with  fire 

The  eyes  that  wept  them,  were  the  cup  of  life 

Held  as  a  welcome  to  her.     Weep,  O  mother ! 

But  not  that  from  this  cup  of  bitterness 

A  cherub  of  the  sky  has  turned  away. 

One  look  upon  her  face  ere  she  depart ! 
My  daughter  !  it  is  soon  to  let  thee  go  ! 
My  daughter !  with  thy  birth  has  gushed  a  spring 
I  knew  not  of  ;  filling  my  heart  with  tears. 
And  turning  with  strange  tenderness  to  thee  1 
A  love — O,  God.  it  seems  so — which  must  flow 
Far  as  thou  fleest.  and  'twixt  Heaven  and  me, 
Henceforward,  be  a  sweet  and  yearning  chain. 
Drawing  me  after  thee  !     And  so  farewell ! 
'Tis  a  harsh  world  in  which  affection  knows 
No  place  to  treasure  up  its  loved  and  lost 
But  the  lone  grave !     Thou,  who  so  late  was  sleeping 
Warm  in  the  close  folds  of  a  mother's  heart, 
Scarce  from  her  breast  a  single  pulse  receiving, 
But  it  was  sent  thee  with  some  tender  thought — 
How  can  I  leave  thee  here!     Alas,  for  man! 
The  herb  in  its  humility  may  fall, 
And  waste  into  the  bright  and  genial  air, 
While  we,  by  hands  that  ministered  in  life 
Nothing  but  love  to  us,  are  thrust  away, 
The  earth  thrown  in  upon  our  just  cold  bosoms, 
And  the  warm  sunshine  trodden  out  forever ! 

Yet  have  I  chosen  for  thy  grave,  my  child, 
A  bank  where  I  have  lain  in  summer  hours, 
And  thought  how  little  it  would  seem  like  death 
To  sleep  amid  such  loveliness.     The  brook 
Tripping  with  laughter  down  the  rocky  steps 
That  lead  us  to  thy  bed,  would  still  trip  on. 
Breaking  the  dread  hush  of  the  mourners  gone  ; 
The  birds  are  never  silent  that  build  here, 
Trying  to  sing  down  the  more  vocal  waters  ; 
The  slope  is  beautiful  with  moss  and  flowers  ; 
And,  far  below,  seen  under  arching  leaves. 
Glitters  the  warm  sun  on  the  village  spire, 
Pointing  the  living  after  thee.     And  this 
Seems  like  a  comfort,  and,  replacing  now 
The  flowers  that  have  made  room  for  thee,  I  go 
To  whisper  the  same  peace  to  her  who  lies 
Robbed  of  her  child,  and  lonely.     'Tis  the  work 
Of  many  a  dark  hour,  and  of  many  a  prayer. 
To  bring  the  heart  back  from  an  infant  gone ! 
Hope  must  give  o'er,  and  busy  fancy  blot 
Its  images  from  all  the  silent  rooms, 


278  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 


And  every  sight  and  sound  familiar  to  her 

Undo  its  sweetest  link  ;  and  so,  at  last, 

The  fountain  that,  once  loosed,  must  flow  forever, 

Will  hide  and  waste  in  silence.     When  the  smile 

Steals  to  her  pallid  lip  again,  and  spring 

Wakens  its  buds  above  thee,  we  will  come. 

And,  standing  by  thy  music-haunted  grave. 

Look  on  each  other  cheerfully,  and  say, 

A  child  that  ive  have  loved  is  gone  to  heaven. 

And  by  this  gate  of  flowers  she  passed  away! 


A  PSALM  OF  DEATH. 

THE  REAPER   AND  THE    FLOWERS. 

Henry  W.  Longfellozv. 

'Dear,  beauteous  Death !  the  jewel  of  the  just 

Shining  no  where  but  in  the  dark, 
What  mysteries  do  lie  beyond  thy  dust. 

Could  we  outlook  that  mark !" 

There  is  a  Reaper  whose  name  is  Death, 

And  with  his  sickle  keen, 
He  reaps  the  bearded  grain  at  a  breath. 

And  the  flowers  that  grow  between. 

"Shall  I  have  nought  that  is  fair,"  saith  he: 
"Have  nought  but  the  bearded  grain 

Though  the  breath  of  these  flowers  is  sweet  to  me, 
I  will  give  them  all  back  again." 

He  gazed  at  the  flowers  with  tearful  eyes, 

He  kissed  their  drooping  leaves  ; 
It  was  for  the  Lord  of  Paradise 

He  bound  them  in  his  sheaves. 

"My  Lord  hath  need  of  the  flowerets  gay," 

The  Reaper  said,  and  smiled : 
"Dear  tokens  of  the  earth  are  they, 

Where  he  was  once  a  child." 

"They  shall  all  bloom  in  fields  of  light, 

Transplanted  by  my  care. 
And  saints  upon  their  garments  white 

These  sacred  blossoms  wear." 

And  the  mother  gave,  in  tears  and  pain. 

The  flowers  she  most  did  love  ; 
But  she  knew  she  would  find  them  all  again. 

In  the  fields  of  light  above. 

O,  not  in  cruelty,  not  in  wrath, 

The  Reaper  came  that  day : 
'Twas  an  angel  visited  the  green  earth. 

And  took  the  flowers  away. 


TO  A  DYING  INFANT. 

Sleep,  little  baby  !  sleep  ! 
Not  in  thy  cradle  bed, 
Not  on  thy  mother's  breast 
Henceforth  shall  be  thy  rest. 

But  with  the  quiet  dead. 


SOI.ACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  279 


Yes — with  the  quiet  dead, 
Baby,  thy  rest  shall  be. 
Oh  !  many  a  weary  heart, 
Weary  of  life's  dull  part, 

Would  fain  lie  down  with  thee. 

Flee,  little  tender  nursling ! 

Flee  to  thy  grassy  nest ; 
There  the  first  flowers  shall  blow, 

The  first  pure  flakes  of  snow 

Shall  fall  upon  thy  breast. 


ON  A  FAIR  INFANT. 
Milton. 

A  fairest  flower,  no  sooner  shown  than  blasted. 

Soft,  silken  primrose,  fading  timelessly. 
Summer's  chief  honour,  if  thou  hadst  outlasted 

Bleak  Winter's  force  that  made  thy  blossom  dry ; 

For  he,  being  amorous  on  that  lovely  dye 
That  did  thy  cheek  envermeil,  thought  to  kiss 
But  killed,  alas !  and  then  bewailed  his  fatal  bliss. 

Yet  can  I  not  persuade  me  thou  art  dead. 

Or  that  thy  corse  corrupts  in  earth's  dark  womb, 

Or  that  thy  beauties  lie  in  wormy  bed, 

Hid  from  the  world  in  a  low  delved  tomb 
Could  Heaven,  for  pity,  thee  so  strictly  doom? — 

Oh,  no  !  for  something  in  thy  face  did  shine 

Above  mortality,  that  showed  thou  wast  divine. 

Ah !  wert  thou  of  the  golden-winged  host, 
Who,  having  clad  thyself  in  human  weed, 

To  earth  from  thy  prefixed  seat  didst  post. 
And  after  short  abode  fly  back  with  speed. 
As  if  to  show  what  creatures  heaven   doth  breed ; 

Thereby  to  set  the  hearts  of  men  on  fire. 

To  scorn  the  sordid  world,  and  unto  heaven  aspire. 

But,  oh!  why  didst  thou  not  stay  here  below? 
To  bless  us  with  thy  heaven-loved  innocence. 

To  slake  his  wrath  whom  sin  hath  made  our  foe, 
To  turn  swift-rushing  black.  Perdition  hence, 
Or  drive  away  the  slaughtering  Pestilence, 

To  stand  'twixt  us  and  our  deserved  smart  ? 

But  thou  canst  best  perform  that  office  where  thou  art. 

Then  thou,  the  mother  of  so  sweet  a  child, 
Her  false-imagined  loss  cease  to  lament, 

And  wisely  think  to  curb  thy  sorrows  wild  ; 
Think  what  a  present  thou  to  God  has  sent, 
And  render  Him  with  patience  what  He  lent ; 

This,  if  thou  do,  he  will  an  offspring  give, 

That,  till  the  world's  last  end,  shall  make  thy  name  to  live. 


THE  MOTHER'S  SOLILOQUY  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  AN 
INFANT  SON. 

By  the  Rev.  J.  Laivson. 

Hushed  be  the  murmuring  thought ! 

Thy  will  be  done. 
O  Arbiter  of  life  and  death,  I  bow 
To  thy  command.     I  yield  the  precious  gift 


280  SOI^ACK  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 


So  late  bestowed,  and  to  the  silent  grave 

Move  sorrowing,  yet  submissive.     O  sweet  babe ! 

I  lay  thee  down  to  rest.     The  cold,  cold  earth, 

A  pillow  for  thy  little  head.     Sleep  on 

Serene  in  death  !     No  care  shall  trouble  thee : 

All  undisturbed  thou  slumberest,  far  more  still 

Than  when  I  lulled  thee  in  my  lap,  and  soothed 

Thy  little  sorrows  till  they  ceased. 

Then  felt  thy  mother  peace  ;  her  heart  was  light 

As  the  sweet  sigh  that  'scaped  thy  placid  lips, 

And  joyous  as  the  dimpled  smile  that  played 

Across  thy  countenance.     O,  I  must  weep 

To  think  of  thee,  dear  infant,  on  my  knees 

Untroubled  sleeping.     Bending  o'er  thy  form, 

I  watched  with  eager  hope  to  catch  the  laugh, 

First  waking  from  the  sparkling  eye,  a  beam 

Lovely  to  me,  as  the  blue  light  of  heaven  ; 

Dimmed  in  the  agony  of  death,  it  beams  no  more ! 

O,  yet  once  more  I  kiss  thy  marble  lips, 

Sweet  babe  !  and  press  with  mine  thy  whitened  cheeks ; 

Farewell,  a  long  farewell !     Yet  visit  me 

In  dreams,  my  darling  !     Though  the  visioned  joy 

Wake  bitter  pangs  ;  still  be  those  in  my  thoughts, 

And  I  will  cherish  the  dear  dream,  and  think 

I  still  possess  thee.     Peace,  my  bursting  heart ! 

O,  I  submit.     Again  I  lay  thee  down. 

Dear  relic  of  a  mother's  hope.     Thy  spirit. 

Now  mingled  with  cherubic  hosts,  adores 

The  grace  that  ransomed  it,  and  lodged  thee  safe 

Above  the  stormy  scene. 


ON  THE  DEATH  OF  AN  INFANT. 

With  what  unknown  delight  the  mother  smiled. 
When  this  frail  treasure  in  her  arms  she  pressed ! 

Her  prayer  was  heard — she  clasped  a  living  child : 
But  how  the  gift  transcends  the  poor  request ! 

A  child  was  all  she  asked,  with  many  a  vow  ! 

Mother — behold  the  child  an  angel  now  ! 

Now  in  her  Father's  house  she  finds  a  place, 
Or,  if  to  earth  she  takes  a  transient  flight, 

'Tis  to  fulfil  the  purpose  of  His  grace : 

To  guide  thy  footsteps  to  the  world  of  light ; — 

A  ministering  spirit  sent  to  thee. 

That  where  she  is,  there  thou  may'st  also  be. 


THE  LOST  DARLING. 

She  was  my  idol.     Night  and  day  to  scan 
The  fine  expansion  of  her  form,  and  mark 
The  unfolding  mind,  like  vernal  rose-bud   start 
To  sudden  beauty,  was  my  chief  delight. 
To  find  her  fairy  footsteps  follow  me. 
Her  hand  upon  my  garments,  or  her  lip 
Long  sealed  to  mine,  and  in  the  watch  of  night 
The  quiet  breath  of  innocence  to  feel 
Soft  on  my  cheek,  was  such  a  full  content 
Of  happiness,   as  none  but  mothers  know. 

Her  voice  was  like  some  tiny  harp,  that  yields 
To  the  light  fingered  breeze  ;  and  as  it  held 
Brief  converse  with  her  doll,  or  playful  soothed 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  281 


The  moaning  kitten,  or  with  patient  care 
Conned  o'er  the  alphabet — but  most  of  all, 
Its  tender  cadence  in  her  evening  prayer 
Thrilled  on  the  air  like  some  ethereal  tone 
Heard  in  sweet  dreams. 

But  now  alone  I  sit, 
Musing  of  her,  and  dew  with  mournful  tears 
Her  little  robes,  that  once  with  woman's  pride 
I  wrought,  as  if  there  were  a  need  to  deck 
What  God  hath  made  so  beautiful.     I  start. 
Half  fancying  from  her  empty  crib  there  comes 
A  restless  sound,  and  breathe  the  accustomed  words, 
"Hush  !     Hush  thee,  dearest,"     Then  I  bend  and  weep- 
As  though  it  were  a  sin  to  speak  to  one 
Whose  home  is  with  the  angels. 

Gone  to  God! 
And  yet  I  wish  I  had  not  seen  the  pang 
That  wrung  her  features,  nor  the  ghostly  white 
Settling  around  her  lips,  I  would  that  Heaven 
Had  taken  its  own,  like  some  transplanted  flower, 
Blooming  in  all  its  freshness. 

Gone  to  God ! 
Be  still,  my  heart !  what  could  a  mother's  prayer. 
In  all  the  wildest  ecstacy  of  hope. 
Ask  for  its  darling  like  the  bliss  of  heaven  ? 


DEATH  OF  AN  INFANT. 

Death  found  strange  beauty  on  that  polished  brow. 
And  dashed  it  out. — 

There  was  a  tint  of  rose 
On  cheek  and  lip. — He  touched  the  veins  with  ice. 
And  the  rose  faded. — 

Forth  from  those  blue  eyes 
There  spake  a  wishful  tenderness,  a  doubt 
Whether  to  grieve  or  sleep,  which  innocence 
Alone  may  wear.     With  ruthless  haste  he  bound 
The  silken  fringes  of  those  curtaining  lids 
Forever. — 

There  had  been  a  murmuring  sound. 
With  which  the  babe  would  claim  its  mother's  ear. 
Charming  her  even  to  tears.     The  spoiler  set 
His  seal  of  silence. — 

But  there  beamed  a  smile 
So  fixed,  so  holy,  from  the  cherub  brow. 
Death  gazed — and  left  it  there. 

He  dared  not  steal 
The  signet-ring  of  heaven. 


LINES. 
By  Mrs.  Hemans. 

No  bitter  tears  for  thee  be  shed, 
Blossom  of  being !  seen  and  gone ! 

With  flowers  alone  we  strew  thy  bed, 
O  blest  departed  one ! 

Whose  all  of  life,  a  rosy  ray, 

BKish'd  into  dawn,  and  pass'd  away. 


282  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 


Yes !  thou  art  fled,  ere  guilt  had  power 
To  stain  thy  cherub  soul  and  form, 

Closed  is  the  soft  ephemeral  flower, 
That  never  felt  a  storm ! 

The  sun-beam's  smile,  the  zephyr's  breath. 

All  that  it  knew  from  birth  to  death. 

Thou  wert  so  like  a  form  of  light, 

That  Heaven  benignly  call'd  thee  hence 

Ere  yet  the  world  could  breathe  one  blight 
O'er  thy  sweet  innocence : 

And  thou,  that  brighter  home  to  bless. 

Art  pass'd  with  all  thy  loveliness ! 

Oh,  hadst  thou  still  on  earth  remain'd. 
Vision  of  beauty !  fair,  as  brief ! 

How  soon  thy  brightness  had  been  stain'd 
With  passion  or  with  grief ! 

Now  not  a  sullying  breath  can  rise 

To  dim  thy  glory  in  the  skies. 

We  rear  no  marble  o'er  thy  tomb, 

No  sculptured  image  there  shall  mourn. 

Ah !  fitter  far  the  vernal  bloom 
Such  dwelling  to  adorn. 

Fragrance,  and  flowers,  and  dews,  must  be 

The  only  emblems  meet  of  thee. 

Thy  grave  shall  be  a  blessed  shrine, 
Adorn'd  with  nature's  brightest  wreath. 

Each  glowing  season  shall  combine 
Its  incense  there  to  breathe ; 

And  oft  upon  the  midnight  air, 

Shall  viewless  harps  be  murmuring  there. 

And  oh !  sometimes  in  visions  blest, 

Sweet  spirit !  visit  our  repose, 
And  bear  from  thine  own  world  of  rest. 

Some  balm  for  human  woes ! 
What  form  more  lovely  could  be  given 
Than  thine,  as  messenger  of  Heaven? 


ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  CHILD. 

Life  is  a  span,  a  fleeting  hour ; 

How  soon  the  vapor  flies  ! 
Man  is  a  tender,  transient  flower, 

That  e'en  in  blooming  dies. 

Death  spreads  his  with'ring  wintry  arms. 

And  beauty  smiles  no  more : 
Ah  !  where  are  now  those  rising  charms 

Which  pleas'd  our  eyes  before? 

Hope  looks  beyond  the  bounds  of  time, 

When  what  we  now  deplore 
Shall  rise  in  full  immortal  prime. 

And  bloom  to  fade  no  more. 

Cease,  then,  fond  nature,  cease  thy  tears ; 

Thy   Saviour  dwells  on  high  : 
There  everlasting  spring  appears. 

There  joys  shall  never  die. 


SOIvACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  283 


THE  DYING  SON. 

Nay,  mother,  fix  not  thus  on  me 

That  streaming  eye, 
And  clasp  not  thus  my  freezing  hand  ; 

For  I  must  die. 

Deeply  I've  drunk  the  wormwood  draught, 

The  grief,  the  pain  ; 
Oh  !   ask  me  not  one  bitter  drop 

To  taste  again. 

My  father,  on  my  weary  head, 

O  lay  thine  hand  ; 
And  bless  me  while  I  yet  can  hear 

Thy  accents  bland : 

And  smile,  as  thou  were  wont  to  do 

In  happy  days. 
When  I  looked  to  thy  loving  eye. 

And  sought  its  praise. 

Loved  parents,  when  my  infant  couch 

Ye  knelt  beside. 
And  asked  the  gracious  Lord  to  bless 

Your  hope,  your  pride  : 

To  Him  ye  gave  the  opening  bud, 

The  early  bloom  ; 
Then  grieve  not  that  the  ripened  fruit 

He  gathers  home. 


THE  INFANT'S  HOME. 

OCCASIONED   BY  THE   DEATH    OF   TWIN    CHILDREN. 

Where  are  ye  now,  sweet  pair  ? 
Vacant  is  now  your  place  of  cradled  rest ; 
Ye  slumber  not  upon   a  mother's  breast. 

Where  is  your  home — oh  !  where  ? 

How  beautiful  ye  were. 
With  your  meek,  peaceful  brows  and  laughing  eyes, 
All  eloquent  of  life's  first  energies, 

And  joy's  bright  fount,  yet  clear. 

How  blithely  ye  awoke 
With  each  new  day  ;  familiar  forms  were  there 
To  meet  your  eager  glance — kind  voices  near, 

In  gentle  accents  spoke. 

Ye  seemed  then  to  be, 
As  some  pale  flower,  that  to  the  morning's  light 
Rears  its  frail  stem,  and  spreads  its  petals  bright 

As  if  confidingly. 

And  when,  at  evening's  close. 
Those  little  hands,   relaxing  from  the  grasp. 
That  some  dear  object  held,  with  loving  clasp. 

Ye  sunk  into  repose. 

Love  made  your  slumbers  seem 
As  the  closed  flowers,  o'er  which  the  silent  star 
Keepeth  its  ceaseless  vigil  from  afar, 

And  sheds  its  unfelt  beam. 


284  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 


I  looked  upon  you  then 
With  thoughts  almost  of  sorrow  in  my  gaze, 
As  on  a  passing  joy,  which  other  days 

Would  make  not  mine  again. 

I  feared  some  change  might  sweep 
Through  the  untroubled  breast,  and  leave  its  stain  ; 
Some  unsuspected  ill,  some  bitter  pain, 

Mar  with  sad  dreams  your  sleep. 

I  know  that  change  has  past 
O'er  you,  sweet,  tender  nurslings  !  but  I  know 
Your  spirits   now   will   never  taste   of  woe, — 

That  change  will  be  the  last. 

Ye  are  before  me  now. 
As  ye  were  wont  to  be — no  beauty  gone, 
That  in  those  eyes,  even  when  tearful,  shone, 

No  charm  from  those  pure  brows. 

Too  calm,  too  deeply  still, 
Is  that  unchanging  picture  ;  yet  a  part 
Of  the   sweet  visions  of  the  past, 

Can  make  its  own  at  will. 

And  thus  ye  are  mine  own, — 
Mine  own,  to  dwell  upon  with  quiet  love  ; 
Thoughts  the  world  cannot  touch,  nor  time  remove- 

From  me  ye  are  not  gone. 

I  ask  not,  where  are  laid 
Those  faded  forms — whether  below  the  sod 
Which  busy  feet  have  with  indilYerence  trod, 

Or  'neath  some  kindly  shade. 

Where,  on  earth's  tranquil  breast. 
The  peace  of  the  Eternal  One  hath  smiled, 
E'en  as  a  mother  o'er  her  cradled  child. 

There  is  your  place  of  rest. 

He,  who  mankind  shall  wake. 
Over  His  children's  rest  a  watch  doth  keep, 
And  with  a  voice  that  breathes  of  love,  the  sleep 

Of  innocence  will  break. 

Not  in  that  simple  tomb, 
But  in  "our  Father's  house,"  where  love  shall  be 
Abiding,  even  in  its  own  sanctuary, 

There  is  the  infant's  home. 


TO  A  MOTHER  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  HER  INFANT. 

Sure  to  the  mansions  of  the  blest. 

Where  infant  innocence  ascends. 
Some  angel  brighter  than  the  rest. 

The  spotless  spirit's  flight  attends. 

There  at  th'  Almighty  Father's  hand. 
Nearest  the  throne  of  living  light. 

The  choirs  of  infant  seraphs  stand. 

And  dazzling  shine  where  all  are  bright. 

When  thus  the  Lord  of  mortal  breath 

Decrees  His  bounty  to  resume. 
And  points  the  silent  shaft  of  death, 

Which  speeds  our  infants  to  the  tomb. 


SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS.  285 


Oh  1  think  the  darlings  of  thy  love, 
Divested  of  this  earthly  clod, 

Amid  unnumber'd  saints  above, 
Bask  in  the  bosom  of  their  God. 


THE  GRAVE. 

There  is  no  monument  to  mark  the  spot ; 

Two  feet  of  grass  are  all  that  o'er  it  wave ; 
The  stranger  passes,  but  he  heeds  it  not ; 
It  is  an  infant's  grave. 

But  there  are  two  who  know  the  spot  full  well, 

And  visit  it,  full  oft,  at  evening  tide  ; 
For  when  the  child  entombed  within  it  fell, 
Fell  all  their  earthly  pride. 

The  mother  as  she  uecks  it  round  with  flowers. 
Waters  with  tears  the  little  new-grown  sod  ; 
The  father  bends  his  knee,  and  sadly  pours 
His  vexed  soul  to  God. 

Grieve  not,  ye  sad  ones !  does  the  spirit  sleep  ? 

'Tis  with  the  Lord,  who  took  but  what  He  gave, 
Angelic  spirits  nightly  vigils  keep 

O'er  your  infant's  grave. 


HASTE  TO  DEPART. 

Haste  to  depart.     The  breeze  of  earth 

Is  all  too  rude  for  thee  ; 
For  thou  wast  destin'd  from  thy  birth 

For  realms  more  fair  and  free. 
Our  warmest  beams  too  coldly  glow. 

Thy  beauties  to  expand  ; 
Thy  spirit  lingers  here  below. 

As  in  a  foreign  land. 

Haste  to  depart.     The  wandering  dove. 

Benighted  as  it  flies, 
Pants  not  to  gain  its  bower  of  love. 

As  thou  to  reach  the  skies. 
The  hours  of  spring-tide  come,  but  bring 

No  spring-time  to  thy  heart ; 
Among  the  leaves   sweet  voices  sing. 

Thou  heed'st  them  not.     Depart ! 

And  yet  to  us  thou  art  as  dear 

As  earthly  thing  can  be  ; 
And  we  are  fain  to  keep  thee  here. 

And  share   our  hearts  with  thee  ; 
The  thought,  how  brief  thy  sojourning 

In  this  low  vale  must  prove. 
But  makes  us  closer  round  thee  cling. 

And  wakes  to  deeper  love ! 

Haste  to  depart.     We  would  not  dare 

To  stay  thy  wing  from  heaven  ; 
And  all  thy  love,  and  all  thy  care. 

To  God  alone  be  given. 
Though  darkness  veil  our  future  hours. 

Nor  thou  be  near  to  shine. 
The  bitter  loss  can  be  but  ours, 

The  gain,  immortal,  thine. 


286  SOLACE  FOR  BEREAVED  PARENTS. 


Thy  mossy  grave  our  tears  shall  wet, 

When  thou  art  lowly  laid, 
But  thy  freed  spirit  shall  forget 

All  of  this  earth's  dim  shade  ; 
When  crown'd  and  rob'd  in  spotless  white, 

Washed  in  the  fount  above  : 
The  Fount  of  blessedness  and  light, 

A  great  Redeemer's  love ! 


DEATH. 

By  Miss  Pardee. 

This  is  a  world  of  care, 

And  many  thorns  upon  its  pathway  lie  ; 
Weep  not,  then,  mothers,  for  your  fond  and  fair, 
Let  the  young  die ! 

Joys  are  like  summer  flowers. 

And  soon  the  blossoms  of  their  beauty  fall, 
Clouds  bloom  o'er  both  ;  brief  are  both  the  hours, 
Death  ends  them  all ! 

This  is  a  world  of  strife. 

Of  feverish  struggles,  and  satiety, 
And  blighted  enterprise — what  then  is  life  ? 
Let  the  strong  die ! 

All  human  love  is  vain, 

And  human  might  is  but  an  empty  sound  ; 
Power  of  mind  and  body  bringeth  pain — 
Death  is  its  bound ! 

This  is  a  world  of  woe, 

Of  heaviness,  and  anxiety  : 
Why  cling  we  then  to  evils  that  we  know  ? 
Let  the  old  die ! 

Wrestling  with  fell  disease. 

Vain  lamentations  o'er  departed  years ; 
Is  not  age  rife  with  these  ? 

Death  dries  all  tears  ! 

This  is  a  world  of  pain  : 

There  is  a  better  land  beyond  the  sky  ; 
A  humble  spirit  may  that  portion  gain — 
Let  the  just  die ! 

But  let  those  shrink  with  dread. 

Whose  days  have  been  of  evil,  lest  they  find, 
When  all  their  earthly  hopes  are  withered, 
Despair  behind ! 

Let  them  implore  for  aid, 

A  fitter  record  of  their  years  to  give  ; 
And  lean  on  Him  who  mercifully  bade 
The  sinner  live ! 


God's  Way  in  the  Wilderness. 


A  DISCOURSE 

BY 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 


19— Vol.  X. 


GOD'S  WAY  IN  THE  WILDERNESS. 


Is.  43:19. 

Behold,  I  will  do  a  new  thing ;  now  it  shall  spring  forth  ;  shall  ye  not 
know  it  ?  I  will  even  make  a  way  in  the  wilderness,  and  rivers  in  the 
desert. 

This  world'  and  human  life  are  well  compared  to  a  wilder- 
nesiS.  Is  the  wilderniessi  pathless  and  without  a  track  O'r  guide 
to  direct  the  weary  traveler?  Such  is  life  to  him  who  ven- 
tures upon  it  without  a  guide,  a  compass  and  a  chart. 

The  world's  a  wilderness,  where  unguarded  men 
Walk  up  and  down  to  find  their  weariness. 

Is  a  wilderness  uncultivated  and  barren  and  destitute  of 
those  productions  which  are  UiCcessary  to  the  substance  and 
comfort  of  man?     Such  is  life. 

Where  solid  pain  succeeds  our  senseless  joys, 
And  short  lived  pleasures  pass  like  floating  dreams. 

Is  a  wilderness  filled  with  briars  and  thorns  and  weeds  that 
impede  our  progress,  tear  O'ur  limbs  and  poison  our  very  blood? 
Such,  too,  is  life. 

Ambition  fires  ambition  ;   love   of  gain 
Strikes  like  a  pestilence  from  breast  to  breast. 
Riot,  fire,  perfidy,  blue  vapours  breathe ; 
And  inhumanity  is  caught  from  man. 
From  smiling  man. 

In  a  wilderness  must  one  expect  to  meet  with  hard  and 
ex'hausting  toil,  to  be  exposed  to  much  trial,  self-denial  and 
hard  endurance,  and  event  to  the  ravages  of  wild  beasts  and 
deadly  reptiles,  and  after  living  obscure  and  unknown  to  die 
unpitied  and  unlamented?  Even  such,  is  the  sad  picture  of 
human  life. 

Where  lust  of  pleasure,  grandeur,  gold. 

Three  demons  that  divide  its  realms  between  them. 

With  strokes  alternate  buffet  to  and  fro 

Man's  restless  heart,  their  sport,  their  flying  ball ; 

Till,  with  the  giddy  circle,  sick  and  tired. 

It  pants  for  peace  and  drops  into  despair. 

Nor  is  this  all.  Satan,  the  great  adversary  of  'human  happi- 
ness, goeth  about  like  a  roaring  lion  seeking  to  destroy,  and 
lurk,  as  he  did  of  old  amid  the  shades  of  life  to  dart  upon  the 
unweary,  to  lure  them  to  temptation,  to  set  on  fire  their  pas- 


292  god's  way  in  the  wilderness. 

sions  with  the  fire  of  his  hellish  darts  and  thus  keqD  them 
without  God  and  without  hope  in  the  world. 

If,  then,  in  a  wilderness  it  is  so  essential  not  only  to  the  com- 
fort but  even  to  the  life  of  man  to  have  a  secure  arwi  beaten 
way,  how  much  more  essential  is  such  a  way  to  the  pilgrim  in 
life's  moral  wilderness.  And  if  in  such  a  blank  and  barren 
wilderness  it  is  all-important  to  have  a  guide  and  provisions  for 
the  way  and  fountains  of  water  to  slake  the  feverish  thirst, 
how  much  more  needful  are  these  in  that  moral  wilderness, 
through  which  as  way-worn  travelers  we  press  on  towards  our 
eternal  destiny. 

Thus  in  the  daily  paths  of  life 

To  shame  us  from  the  way 
Of  pure  and  happy  innocence 

And  lead  our  steps  astray, — 
His  net  the  wily  tempter  spreads 

And  with  an  angel's  voice 
Pours  forth  his  witching  melodies 

And  bids  our  hearts  rejoice ; 
Instils  his  poison  in  our  ears 

And  gently  leads  us  on  ; 
Till  roused  by  sad,  unwonted  fears 

We  feel  our  peace  is  gone. 

In  such  a  road,  thus  filled  with  snares, 

Oh !  who  can  safely  speed  ? 
Who  pass  along  life's  dangerous  way 

Unstained  in  thought  and  deed. 

And  yet  in  this  wilderness  we  are  and  through  it  we  must 
wend  our  way.  To  all  its  dangers  we  are  exposed.  By  all  its 
temptations  we  are  assailed.  By  all  its  sorrows  and  its  trials 
we  must  be  overwhelmed;  and  having  passed  through  its  valley, 
dark  with  the  shadow  of  death,  we  must  enter  upon  the  dread 
altematives  of  salvation  or  perdition. 

How  welcome,  then,  the  proclamation  of  our  text  and  how 
consolatory  the  reflections  it  awakens  in  the  bosom.  L.et  us 
contemplate  it  in  some  of  its  various  applications : 

I.  Human  life  is  a  wilderness  as  it  regards  the  course  of 
divine  providence.  This  is  necessarily  perplexed,  obscure  and 
seemingly  mysterious  because  of  our  position,  our  incapacity 
to  judge,  and  our  indisposition  to  judge  aright.  It  is  but  a 
small  part  of  God's  ways  we  can  possibly  discern.  They 
encircle  us  in  their  illimitable  infinity  like  the  imboimded  forest 
which  stretches  out  interminably  around  the  benighted  trav- 
eler.    Our  views  of  divine  providence  must  resemble  therefore 


god's  way  in  the  wilderness.  293 

chose  of  the  man'  who  from  his  own  dwelling  sihould  undertake 
to  describe  the  entire  surface  and  even  the  contenits  of  the 
earth. 

Creatures  of  a  day  we  float  upon  the  world's  stormy  sea  like 
the  waves  of  ocean  driven  forward  by  their  successors  and 
dashed  and  broken  upon  their  forerunners,  the  countless 
wrecks  that  daily  perish.  No  man  therefore  can  safely  or 
surely  calculate  what  will  be  on  tomorrow  or  what  will  be  the 
issue  of  his  latours. 

But  still  men  think  not  so  ; 

While  sporting  on  youth's  untiring  wing 
We  roam  joyously  o'er  life's  verdant  fields 

And  woo  its  opening  spring. 

But  it  is  not  long  before  we  learn  that  all  our  illusive  hopes 
must  leave  their  shattered  wrecks  on  disappointment's  shore. 
Our  destiny  is  not  in  our  own  hands.  The  race  is  not  to  the 
swift  nor  the  battle  to  the  strong,  nor  victory  to  the  bold.  The 
wisdom  of  men  is.  foolishness,  and  all  their  expectation  vain, 
and  by  the  daily  and  innumerable  instances  in  which  God 
des'troys  the  fondest  and  fairest  hopes.  He  admonishes  and 
assures  them  that  it  is  not  in  man  that  walketh  to  direct  his 
own  steps.  There  is  many  a  way  that  seemeth  right  to  a  man 
and  yet  the  end  thereo'f  is  death.  And  ^he  only  whose  steps  are 
ordered  by  the  Lord  finds  a  way  opeiiied  for  him  in  the  wilder- 
ness and  everything  made  to  work  together  for  his  good. 

Life  is  a  wilderness,  and  the  ways  of  God  are  not  as  man's 
ways,  but  are  oftentimes  in  direct  contrariety  to  them.  But 
this  wilderness  is  all  plain  and  obvious  to  the  view  of  Him  who 
has  called  us  to  journey  through  it.  He  has  prepared  a  way, 
drawn  the  chart,  and  planned  all  the  proceedings  of  His  people 
so  that  while  in  all  their  ways  they  acknowledge  the  Lord  He 
directs  their  steps,  fixes  the  bounds  of  their  habitation,  and 
orders  their  very  steps. 

There  are  circumstances  in  Provideuice  not  a  few,  in  which 
the  Lord's  family  have  such  mountains  in  their  way,  such 
obscurity  and  darkness,  such  difficulties  to  struggle  with,  that 
they  do  not  know  how  they  are  to  get  over  this  obstacle  or  the 
other;  and  it  seems  as  if  they  were  set  fast  in  their  journey, 
could  get  no  further,  and  must  lie  down  in  despair.  No,  says 
God,  "I  will  even  make  a  way  in  the  wilderness;"  "I  will  make 


294  god's  way  in  the  wilderness. 

darkness  light  before  them,  and  crookedi  things  straight;"  I 
will  remove  the  difficulties,  and  if  there  be  a  mountain  before 
them,  I  will  say — "Who  art  thou,  O  great  mountaini?  Before 
Zerubbabel  thou  shalt  become  a  plain,"  to  make  a  way  for  "My 
people.  My  chosen."  Fear  not,  beloved,  if  you  belong  to  God ; 
providence  may  be  dark,  things  may  be  exceedingly  trying  in 
your  experience,  but  He  will  "make  a  way,"  sO'  that  you  shall 
be  led  an.\.  God  will  "even  make  a  way  in  the  wilderness  ;"  and 
"bread  shall  be  given,  and  your  water  shall  be  sure,"  all  through 
the  wilderness  journey,  according  tO'  His  promise. 

I  think  I  might  here  invite  a  very  considerable  number  of  my 
hearers  to  get  up  and  preach  for  five  minutes  apiece.  One 
would  say,  "Ah!  there  was  a  period  in  my  history,  in  which  I 
thought  all  was  over,  and  I  was  an  utterly  ruined  mani,  but  God 
'made  a  way  in  the  wilderness  ;'  and  the  difficulties  disappeared 
without  my  attempting  to  touch  them."  And  another  would 
declare,  "I  was  involved  in  an  affliction  which  threatened  my 
life ;  and  during  that,  and  owing  to  its  exceeding  weight  upon 
me,  business  and  family  and  every  thing  appeared  going  to 
ruin;  but  the  Lord  'made  a  way  in  the  wiklemess,'  relief  was 
at  handi,  healtih  returned,  and  'enlargement  and  deliverance' 
(as  old  Mordecai  called  it)  came  in  a  way  the  least  expected." 
Elijah  could  not  tell  by  any  reasoning  power  or  any  philosophy, 
however  deep,  how  during  the  famine  he  should  be'  sustained 
and  supplied:  "Oh!"  says  Jehovah,  "I  will  'make  a  way  in  the 
wilderness ;'  go  down  to  Sarepta ;  that  is  the  way  for  you  to 
go."  "And  to  whom  there,  Lord  ?"  "Why,  to  a  poor  widow, 
and  she  sihall  sustain  thee;  and  if  the  supplies  fail,  I  will  send 
thee  into  the  wilderness,  and  thou  shalt  be  fed  even'  there."  I 
might  refer  you  to  many  other  illustrations  in  the  histories  of 
the  paitriarehs ;  the  'history  of  David,  and  'his  way  to  his  throne 
and  kingdom;  the  history  of  the  prophets,  Isaiah  and  others, 
and  the  history  of  the  apostles.  Thiere  seemed,  in  multitudes 
of  instances,  no  way  for  them  to  proceed  in.  Look  at  Paul  and 
Silas,  when  they  had  got  into  the  Phillippian  jail  for  proclaim- 
ing God's  truth ;  they  have  no  friend  at  Court,  no*  possibility  of 
esca4)e,  no  picklock  keys.  "I  will  make  a  way,"  says  God ;  and 
He  shook  the  foundations,  of  the  prison,  and  threw  open  the 
doors  before  them. 


god's  way  in  the  wilderness.  295 

Of  such  illustrations  the  Bible  is  full  and  the  daily  life  of 
christians  is  am  exemplification.  The  just  Hve  and  walk  and 
are  saved  by  faith.  When  father  and  mother  are  removed 
then  the  Lord  takes  them  up  and  when,  all  creature  good  is 
withdrawn,  the  Lord  proves  Himself  to^  be  a  very  present  help 
in  every  time  of  need.  They  are  overwhelmed  with  difficulty. 
Clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about  them.  Their  future 
course  is  veiled  in  impenetrable  obscurity.  But  a  way  is  still 
kept  open.  Step  by  step  they  advance  and  finidi  aniother  step 
prepared  for  them  and  a  way  opened  that  they  knew  not  of. 

Look  at  that  bereaved  family.  Their  head,  protector  and 
provider  is  gone  and  they  are  left  tO'  all  appearances  helpless 
and  hopeless.  But  that  lone  widow  puts  her  trust  in  God. 
She  lays  hold  of  His-  promise  that  He  will  be  a  husband  to  the 
widow  and  a  judge  of  the  fatherless  and  she  casts  all  her  cares 
upon  that  gracious  God  who  has  thus  assured  her  of  His 
interest  in  her.  She  teaches  her  children,  to  make  the  Lord  the 
guide  of  their  youth  and  the  only  source  of  hope  and  expecta- 
tioini.  Andi  thusi  d'ay  by  day  while  pressing  through  the  wilder- 
ness she  leans  upon  the  Lord  and  makes  His  wo>rd  her  stay. 
And,  my  brethren,  how  often  have  you  observed  the  children 
of  such  a  widowed  mother,  whose  faith  is  great,  but  whose 
means  are  small,  prosper  and  beeome  useful  and  esteemed 
members  oi  society,  while  the  children  who^  have  grown  up 
under  the  watch  and'  care  of  an  earthly  father  have  proved 
worthless  and  unprofitable. 

And  so  it  is  always  and  in;  every  way,  and  as  it  regards,  all 
things  that  pertain  to  his  people. 

To  all  mem  and  not  less  but  all  the  more  to  the  believer,  life  is 
a  state  of  unrest  and  fearfulness,  and  vicissitude.  It  is  a  pil- 
grimage, a  warfare,  a  sojourn.  All  around  is  in  a  state  of  flux 
and  decay.  The  sand  of  the  desert  is  for  food,  the  bitter 
waters  of  Marah  for  drink,  garments  of  sackcloth  for  raiment, 
and  the  shepherd's  tent  for  habitation;  The  great  and  sore 
vvildermess  between  Egypt  and  Canaan  is  the  type  of  our 
earthly  lot, — the  toil  and  disquiet  of  this  present  state  of  being. 
But  to  the  true  Israelite  there  is  a  pillar  of  cloud  by  day  and  of 
fire  by  night  which  give  strength  and  conifi'demce — the  Spirit  of 
adoption,  the  true  Comforter,  whose  presence  gives  greatness 


396  god's  way  in  the  wilderness. 

and  assurance  for  ever.  Through  Him  strengthening  him  the 
behever  canmot  be  soon  shaken  in  mind.  He  standeth  fast  and 
trusteth  in  the  Lord.  They  know  that  nothing  can  separate 
them  from  the  love  of  God.  Their  inheritance  is  far  away. 
None  can  take  it  from  them.  This  hope  is  a  strong  tower  amid 
the  troubles  of  the  way  into  which  the  righteous  run  and  are 
safe. 

But  man's  present  condition  is  as  a  wilderness  considered  in 
reference  to  the  way  of  salvation.  Man  is  not  now  in  Para- 
dise. He  has  been  driven  forth  into  the  wilderness-  which  his 
own  sin  has  formed.  Without  him  and  around  him  the  storm 
rages  and'  the  disordered  and  unbalanced  elements  rage. 
Beneath  him  thorns  and  briars  spring  up  and  cover  what  was 
the  garden  of  the  Lord.  Within  him  he  feels  the  disorder  and 
the  discord  of  all  his  moral  powers,  'Behind  him  roll  in  thick- 
ening masses  the  dark  clouds  of  bis  past  misdoings  and 
offences.  Albove  him  he  perceiveS'  the  gathering  elements  of 
portending  wrath,  while  all  before  him  is  blackened  by  a  certain 
fearful  looking  for  of  judgment  and  of  fiery  indignation. 

In  this  condition  man  tum^s  towards  every  quarter  enquiring 
who  will  show  us  any  good  or  can  man  be  just  with  God — a 
God  who  taketh  vengeance.  In  the  various  systems  of  idolatry 
what  melancholy  proof  have  we  of  man's  conscious  guilt,  and 
of  his  utter  inability  to  find  out  God.  Nay,  even  where  the 
true  light  shinies  around  them  how  blindly  do  men  stray  and 
wander  like  sheep  every  one  in  his  own  way  but  every  one  in  a 
way  contrary  to  God's  appointed  way  to  life  and  salvation. 
And  v^hy  is  this  ?  Why  but  because  the  light  that  is  in  them  is 
darkened' — 'they  lean  to  their  own  understanding,  and  go  about 
to  establish  a  righteousness  of  their  own  devising. 

Now  when  the  traveler  plods  his  way  through  the  pathless 
desert,  or  sails  upon  the  trackless  sea,  how  does  he  find  and 
pursue  his  proper  course?  They  look  up  from  earth  to  ask 
their  way  from  heaven;  and  find  their  only  sure  direction 
thence.  And  when  we  behold  the  sin,  misery  and  confusion 
which  every  wihere  prevail,  the  beauty  of  God's  holiness  and 
how  men  have  defiled  it,  the  awfulness  of  God's  majesty  and 
how  men  have  defied  it,  and  the  exactness-  of  that  infinite  justice 
w'hich  then,  provoke  to  the  uttermost  wrath; — we  might  well 


god's  way  IiX  THE  WILDERNESS.  297 

weep  over  our  lost  estate  and  cry  who  shall  bring  salvation. 
Behold  in  God  is  our  strengt'hi — in  the  Son  of  the  living  God  is 
our  hope.  The  same  God  who  has  given  the  lost  traveler  and 
the  weary  mariner  a  guide  in  the  shining  heavens  above  them, 
has  given  to  us  also  the  sun  of  righteousness  by  day  and  the  star 
of  Bethlehem  by  night  so  that  the  wayfaring  man  even  though 
a  fool  need  not  err  in  pursuing  the  way  of  life.  God  has  thus 
made  a  way  in  the  wilderness.  No  lion  shall  be  there,  nor  an}^ 
ravenous  beast  shall  go  up  thereon — it  shall  not  be  found  there, 
but  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord  shall  walk  there. 

Thus  still   amid  this  lonely  main 

Beams  one  inspiring  ray  ; 
There  shines  a  star  on  Bethlehem's  plain, 

And  soon  the  dawning  day 
Dawns  on  a  newborn   soul, 

And  all  its  darkness  and  decay 
Is  fresh  and  green  again. 

Blessed  be  God  there  is  a  way  through  this  wilderness  of 
guilt  and  sin  and  dark  despair — a  new  and  living  way  which 
Jesus  has  consecrated  for  us.  Oh,  yes,  Christ  is  the  way 
through  whom  w'bosoever  will  may  return  unto  God  and  find 
mercy.  It  is  through  Christ — His  merit,  His  imputed  righte- 
ousness, His  atoning  blood,  His  essential  Deity,  His  finished 
and  perfect  \vork — a  sinner  can  find  access  to,  and  acceptance 
with,  God.  This  is  the  way,  God's  high-wa)' — ^the  sure,  the 
firm,  the  finished,  the  straight  and  narrow,  the  only  way  that 
leadeth  unto  everlasting  life.  No  man  can  come  unto  God  but 
in  thii  way  ibesides  which  there  is  none  other  under  heaven 
given  among  men  whereby  any  child  of  mortality  can  possibly 
be  saved.  From  eternity  God  devised  this  way.  From  the 
beginning  of  time  the  whole  course  of  His  providence,  patri- 
archs and  profits  and  holy  men  of  God  have  been  preparing  this 
way.  And  in  the  fulness  of  time  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ  came  forth  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh  to  make  this 
way  of  salvation,  to  run  one  stiun'bling-block  out  of  the  \vay,  to 
remove  the  curse  of  sin,  clear  away  all  obstructions,  conquer 
all  enemies,  scatter  all  darkness,  and  by  His  own  merit.  His 
own  obedience.  His  own  sacrifice,  His  own  atonement.  His 
own  satisfaction,  open  up  a  way  of  access  unto  the  Father  so 
that  God  may  be  just. 


298  god's  way  in  the  wilderness. 

Truly,  brethreni,  this  is  none  other  than  God's  own  way — for 
it  is  as  high  above  man's  ways  as  are  the  heavens  above  the 
earth — a  path  which  the  vulture's  eye  'hath  not  seen,  the  great 
mystery  of  godHness  into  which  even  angels  desire  to  look. 

"/'' — mark  the  language  of  my  text — "I  will  even  make  a 
way."  I  ask,  what  an^gel,  or  what  mind  of  man  could  have 
devised  such  a  way  toi  save  sinners,  as  God  has  marked  out  in 
the  person  of  His  dear  Son?  Who  would  have  thought  of  sub- 
stitution? Who'  would  have  thought  of  any  way  for  poor 
ruined  sinners  to^  return,  that  were  driven  out  of  Paradise 
through  and  undfer  the  fall,  "cherubim  with  a  flaming  sword 
keeping  the  way  of  the  tree  of  life,"  had  not  God  Himself 
formed  it  ?  It  is  His  own  plan,  His  own  appointment.  His  O'wn 
gift;  and  even  the  preparation  of  the  humanity  of  Christ  is 
God's  own  work,  for  He  says,  "A  body  hast  Thou  prepared 
Me."  Himself  prepared  the  "way;"  Himself  drew  the  plan; 
Himself  engaged  in  covenant  settlement  for  the  whole  of  the 
terms  of  salvation,  all  that  should  be  requisite  for  the  bringing 
of  sinners  to^  God.  Andi  therefore  the  positive  language  is  set 
down — "The  ransomed  of  the  Lord  shall  return,  and  come  to 
Zion  with  songs  and  everlasting  joy  upon  their  heads :  they 
shall  dbtain  joy  and  gladness,  and  sorrow  andi  sighing  shall  flee 
away."  God'  will  not  be  disappointed ;  He  has  marked  out  the 
way,  by  which  His  ransomed  "shall  return,"  and  no'  hindrance 
shall  prevent  one  of  them  from  finding  His  footstool,  and  then 
finding  His  seat. 

This,  my  brethren,  is  the  living  way  of  the  gospel,  the  glori- 
ous way  by  which  God  is  glorified  and  man  redeemed,  the  nar- 
row way  w'hich  will  admit  of  no  self-righteous  burdens,  the 
hidden  way  revealed  only  by  God's  Spirit  to  God's  chosen  ones, 
and  the  satisfying  way  in  which  God  will  be  foimd  making 
rivers  on  the  desert,  and  opening  up  wells  andi  fountains  of  sal- 
vation, the  pure  waters  of  life,  clear  as  crystal,  proceeding  out 
of  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb. 

"If  ever  (he  observes)  God  discovered  Himself  as  a  'foun- 
tain of  living  waters,'  it  was  when,  in  the  person  of  His  own 
divine  Son,  He  opened  on  this  earth  a  'fountain  for  sin  and  for 
uncleanness.'  Providing,  in  the  blood  oi  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
an  expiation  for  human  guilt,  and  in  the  gift  of  His  Holy 


god's  way  in  the  wilderness.  299 

Spirit,  which  was  one  result  of  the  Mediator's  interference,  a 
renewal  of  human  nature,  He  fulfilledi  to-  the  letter  the  pro- 
phetical promise,  'I  will  open  rivers  in  high  places,  and  foun- 
tains in  the  midst  of  the  valleys.  I  will  make  the  wilderness  a 
pool  cf  water,  and  the  dry  land  springs  of  water.'  The  earth 
was  indeed  a  wilderness :  and  everything  therein  was  dried  up 
and  parched,  although  there  had  passed'  over  it — as  truly  there 
had) — the  breath  of  its  Maker's  indignation :  but  there  came  to  it 
One,  human  in  form,  but  divine  in  person:  and,  through  what 
He  performed,  and  what  He  endured,  living  streams  gushed 
forth :  and  the  thirsty  might  everywhere  drink  and  be 
refreshed,  the  pollutedi  everywhere  wash  and  be  cleam.  The 
justifying  virtue  of  the  work  of  the  Redeemer,  the  sanctifying 
of  that  of  the  Spirit — these  include  everything  of  which,  as  sin^- 
ful  but  immortal  beings,  we  can  ihave  need :  by  the  former  we 
may  have  title  to  the  kingdom  of  heaveU',  and  by  the  latter  be 
made  meet  for  the  glorious  inheritance.  That  God  'hath  made 
Him  to  be  sin  for  us  who  knew  no  sin',  that  we  might  be  made 
the  righteousness  of  God.  in  Him' — ^here  truly  is  the  sum  and 
substance  of  the  Gospel :  and  whosoever,  conscious'  of  his  sin^- 
fulness,  and  intent  on  learning  how  he  may  be  saved,  hath  had 
these  words  brought  home  to-  him  in  'demonstration  of  the 
Spirit  and  of  power,'  oh,  he  can  testify,  that  not  to  the  traveler 
on  the  burning  desert  is  the  bubbling  fountain  more  eloquent 
of  life,  than  the  Gospel,  thus  gathered  into  a  sentence,  to  the 
wanderer  who  feels'  condemned  by  the  law.  Nevertheless,  can 
it  be  said,  that  men  in  general  are  ready  to  close  with  the  Gos- 
pel, to  partake  of  it  as  the  parched  traveler  of  the  spring  found 
amid  the  sands?  Alas,  'who  hath  believed  our  report,  and  to 
whom  hath  the  arm  of  the  Lord  been  revealed?'  The  invita- 
tion is  going  forth,  'Ho,  every  one  that  ithirsteth,  come  ye  to  the 
waters :'  but  it  has  tO'  be  accompanied  with  the  ancient  remon- 
strance, 'Why  do  ye  spend  mouicy  for  that  which  is  not  bread, 
and  your  labour  for  that  which  satisfieth  not?'  Labour  is:  thus 
thrown  away :  cisterns  are  'hewn  out.'  Even  where  religion  is 
not  neglected,  what  pains  are  bestowedi  on  the  making  some 
system  less  distasteful  to  pride,  or  more  complacent  to  passion, 
than  practical  unadulterated  Christianity!  what  costly  effort  is 
given  to  the  compounding  the  human  with,  the  Divine,  our  own 


300  god's  way  in  the  wilderness. 

merit  with  that  of  Christ :  or  to  the  preparing  ourselves  for  the 
reception  of  grace,  as  though  it  were  not  grace  by  which,  as 
well  as  grace  for  which,  we  are  prepared:  grace  which  must 
fasihion  the  vessel,  as  well  as  grace  which  must  fill  it.  Truly 
the  cistern  is  'hewn  out,'  when  the  fountain  is  forsaken.  Let 
Christ  he  unto  you  'all  in  all,'  'made  untO'  you  of  God,  wisdom, 
and  righteousness,  and  sanctification,  and  redemption,'  and  the 
fountain  gives  a  river,  which,  like  the  rock  struck  in  Horeb, 
never  ceaseth  to  make  glad  the  believer.  But  turn  away, 
though  by  a  single  step,  from  Christ,  and,  oh,  the  toil,  the  dis- 
satisfaction, of  endeavouring  to  make — what?  'a  broken  cis- 
tern,' 'a  cistern  that  can  hold  no  water' — if  creature  comforts 
are  such  cistern.s  to  those  who  seek  happiness,  creature  systems 
must  be  to  those  whO'  seek  immortality, 

"For  what  shall  endure  the  severity  of  God's  scrutiny,  but 
that  which  is  itself  of  God's  appointing  and  providting?  Sub- 
ject, so  to  speak,  one  of  your  cistenis  to  His  inspection,  whether 
repentance  as  supposed'  to  be  necessarily  efficacious  tO'  forgive- 
ness, or  good  works  considered  as  meritoiious,  oir  His  own 
mercy  as  too  great  to  take  vengeance — and  how  He  will  look  it 
through !  how  full  of  flaws  will  it  become !  how  utterly  incapa- 
ble of  holding  anything  but  that  wine  of  His  wrath,  of  whose 
dregs  you  read  in  the  Book  of  Psalms,  dregs  which,  if  we  may 
use  such  expression,  may  prevent  the  wine's  escape,  filling  up 
the  fissures,  but  only  that  you  may  have  always  whereof  you 
must  drink,  but  never  wherewith  you  may  slake  your  thirst. 
But  shall  we  wonder  then  that  God  denounces,  in  terms  so 
reproachful  and  indignant,  the  leaving  the'  fountain,  and  the 
hewing  out  the  cistern?  the  substituting  for  the  simple,  unadul- 
terated Gospel  of  Christ,  any  of  those  devices  of  reason,  or 
creations  of  pride,  to  which  some  would'  have  recourse  for 
motive  to  duty,  strength  in  trial,  comfort  in  sorrow,  hope  in 
death?  Shall  we  wonder  that  as  if,  where  such  a  thing  could 
be  done,  it  were  idle  to  expect  that  its  enormity  should  be  felt, 
he  appeals,  not  to  earth,  but  to  heaven,  for  an  audience  ?  appeals, 
and  in  what  terms?  'Be  horribly  afraid,  ye  heavens;  be  ye 
vei"y  desolate.'  One  is  staggered  by  such  expressions — the 
heavens  called  on  to  be  'very  desolate,'  as  if  they  were  likely  to 
be  unpeopled,   or   kept   empty,   through  this  hewing  out  of 


god's  way  in  tup  wilderness.  301 

broken  cisterns.  The  broken  cistern'  below  is  the  unfilled  man- 
sion above.  Oh,  if  ye  would  do  your  part  towards  the  occu- 
pancy of  heaven' — ^if  ye  would  be  there  yourselves,  and  so 
rather  prevent  vacancy,  or  leave  not  vacancy  to  be  filled  by 
sudh  as  were  not  'children  of  the  kinigdom,'  take  heed  that  ye 
suffer  not  yourselves  to  be  drawn  aside  from  Christ :  admit  no 
system  of  theology  of  which  Christ,  Christ  crucified,  Christ 
glorified,  is  not  the  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  beginning  and  the 
end.  And  let  it  warn  you  of  the  peril  of  missing  heaveni — not 
through  idleness,  not  through  indifference ;  this  is  not  the  case 
contemplated  :  the  idle  man  is  not  in  the  quarry,  'hewing  out  the 
cistern,' — ^but  through  misapplied  energy,  through  misdirected 
en<kavour — let  it  warn  you  of  the  peril  of  this,  that  the 
heavens  are  called  upon  to  be  'very  desolate' — ay,  'very  deso- 
late ;'  interpret  it  how  you  will,  whether  as  emptying  themselves 
of  their  shining  hosts  to  behold  the  most  astounding  and  afflict- 
ing of  spectacles,  or  as  likely  tO'  remain  unoccupied  through  so 
sad  and  fatal  an  apostasy — ^the  heavens  are  called  on  to  be 
'very  desolate,'  when  God's  people  are  to  be  charged  with  hav- 
ing forsaken  the  fountain  of  living  waters,  and)  hewn  out  to 
themselves  cistem-s  that  can  hold  no  water." 

There  are  many  other  beautiful  and  appropriate  applications 
of  this  promise  to  which  we  might  allude  and  particularly  as 
illustrative  of  God's  dealings  with  the  soul  in  the  commence- 
ment and  progress  of  the  work  of  personal  religion  in  the  soul. 
How  like  a  wilderness  to  the  anxious  and  inquiring  soul  is  the 
way  of  salvation.  How  does  it  seem^  hedged  up  with  thorns 
and  so  overgrown  that  there  is  no  possibility  of  advancing. 
But  God  allures  them  and  brings  them  into  some  quiet  spot  and 
there  speaks  comfortably  to  them,  assures  them  of  His  love, 
and  pardon,  makes  vital  godhness  plain  to  their  view  and  thus 
makes  plain  their  way  before  them.  And  when  in  their  self- 
righteous  spirit  such  individuals  go  about  to  find  comfort  in 
some  methods  of  their  own  and  thus  wander  from  one  thicket 
to  another  and  from  one  slough  tO'  another  until  they  are  ready 
to  give  up  in  absolute  despair,  God  says :  "I  will  make  a  way  for 
you ;"  and  teaches  them  that  just  as  they  have  received  the  Lord 
Jesus  as  guilty,  miserable  sinners,  so  are  they  tOi  walk  in  Him. 
And  SO'  also  when  believers  are  one  in  thick  darkness  and.  over- 


302  god's  way  in  the  wilderness. 

whelmed  with  anxiety  lest  they  should  utterly  fall  away  and 
become  apostate,  God  makes  a  way  for  them:.  The  sun  arises 
and  shines  upon  their  path,  doctrines  are  revealed  in  clearness 
and  applied  with  power  and  their  feet  are  fixed  upon  the  rock 
oi  God's  unfailing  mercy. 

But  we  must  close  with  a  few  practical  remarks. 

And  in  the  first  place  the  obscurity  of  the  future,  the  veil 
which  is  cast  upon  time  and  eternity  that  lie  before  us,  should 
teach  us  the  folly  and  fatuity  of  sin.  If  we  were  naturally 
blind,  and  some  benevolent  being  undertook  to  be  our  guide, 
and  devoted  himself  to  keep  us  in  all  our  ways,  what  madness 
should  we  think  it  to  pierce  the  hand  that  led  us,  and  to  refuse 
such  needful  offices  of  love!  And  what  is  sin  but  wilful  sepa- 
ration from  that  heavenly  Guide  to  whom  the  dark  clouds 
before  us  are  as  clear  as  the  mid-day  sun?  He  sees  every  rock 
and  every  quisksand  on  which  the  vessel  might  chance  to  strike. 
He  traces  with  unerring  eye  the  path  of  life  and  path  of  death, 
by  one  or  other  of  which  we  must  infallibly  proceed.  Nay,  He 
not  only  sees  the  future  but  shapes  its  contingencies,  and  con^- 
trols  its  destinies.  The  future  is  but  another  name  for  His  yet 
unaccomplished  will.  H  then  we  trust  in  Him,  and  obey  Him, 
with  what  flowers  and  blessings  may  He  strew  the  road  which 
we  have  yet  to  travel !  If  otherwise,  with  what  wreck  and 
ruin,  even  of  our  earthly  happinesis,  with  what  bereavement  of 
those  we  love,  and  inflictions  of  every  curse  we  dread,  may  He 
cover  the  dreai-y  path  which  lies  before  us ! 

But,  secondly,  if  there  is  no  way  through  this  desert  of  sin 
and  misery  except  through  a  personal  interest  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  what  is  to  become  of  you  who  are  ignorant  of  such  a 
good  hope  through  grace  ? 

Whither  are  you  traveling?  In  what  road?  "Broad  is  the 
way  that  leadeth  to  destruction ;  and  many  there  be,  which  go 
in  thereat."  O  my  hearer,  you  must  permit  me  to  be  clear  of 
your  blood.  If  Jesus  be  not  all  ins  all  to  thee,  if  He  be  not  the 
object  of  thine  aflfection  and  of  thy  confidence  too,  thou  art  in 
the  high  road  to  destruction;  just  at  the  precipice,  over  which 
thou  art  likely  to  stumble  into  the  gulf  of  despair,  and  sink 
from  gulf  to  gulf  in  a  bottomless  pit,  without  a  hope,  without  a 
remedy,  without  a  hand  tO'  help.     Sinner !  there  is  no  salvation 


god's  way  in  the  wilderness.  303 

but  in  Christ  Jesus.  He  is  the  only  way  of  access  to  the 
Father,  and  the  way  of  blessing,  pardon  and'  salvation. 

One  other  remark  by  way  of  contrast.  The  Gospel  now 
proclaims  "rivers  of  ipleasiire,"  rivers  of  joy,  rivers  of  life ;  fcut 
w'hen  t'hou  hast  crossed  the  'threshold;  into  eterniity,  when  thou 
hast  quitted  the  wilderness  a  stranger  to  the  Gosp^el  of  Jesus 
Christ,  thou  may  est,  like  the  rich  man,  call  in  vain  for  one  drop, 
to  cool  thy  parched  tongue,  tormented  in  the  flame  of  everlast- 
ing wrath.  I  am  clear  of  your  blood.  Rivers  of  joy.  life  and 
health,  for  all  whom  grace  Divine  brings  tO'  embrace  a  precious 
Christ;  not  a  drop  to  cool  the  pardied  tongue,  for  those  who 
live  and  die  despisers,  rejecters  and  neglecters  of  the  Son  of 
God.. 

Oh !  that  the  Spirit  of  God  may  awaken  attention,  deep  con- 
cern and  hallowed  conviction,  in  the  'hearts^  of  all  wiho  listen; 
that  it  may  be  your  happy  portion  an'd  privilege,  to  know  that 
you  are  treading  in  the  "way"  of  God's  preparing,  to  drink  of 
the  "rivers"  of  God's  opening. 

Does  earth  afford  no  shelter  ?     And  the  sky- 
So  charged  with  storms  thou  knowest  not  where  to  fly — 
Turn  to  one  refuge — yield  not  to  despair, 
But  pour  out  all  thy  soul  before  His  throne  in  prayer — 
Before  His  throne  who  never  yet  did  frown 

On  humble  suppliant  from  His  mercy  seat ; 
Who,  if  with  guilt  thy  heart  is  bowed  down, 

In  the  right  path  will  lead  thine  erring  feet ; 
He  who  refused  not  Mary's  mournful  plea 
Will  shed  bright  rays  of  joy,  and  set  thy  spirit  free. 

Finally,  brethren,  w^ben  the  last  day  of  our  life  shall  come  to 
an  end,  and  the  night  of  the  grave  shall  have  overshadowed  us, 
and  living  men  shall  'have  been  left  far  behind  and  we  shall  be 
in  the  dark  valley  where  all  is  strange,  if  God  is  our  reconciled 
God  and  Father  in  Christ  Jesus,  He  will  be  with  us  even  then. 
He  will  guide  our  siteps.  His  rod  and  His  staff  will  comfort 
us  so  that  we  shall  not  fear.  Then  sliall  we  not  fear  for  aught 
that  may  happen.  The  power  of  hell  shall  not  confound  our 
souls. 

Midst  clouds  and  darkness  gathering  round 
Our  eyes  shall  pierce  beyond  this  stormy  sky, 

And  our  freed  spirit  soaring,  with   a  bound 

Shall  reach  yon  heaven  and  feel  its  presence  nigh. 

Dry  thy  sad  tears,  then,  life  will  soon  be  o'er. 

And  rest,  pure  rest,  is  there  on  yonder  happy  shore. 


304  god's  way  in  the  wilderness. 

Oh,  therefore,  thou  my  Saviour  God,  let  me  cling  unto  Thee 
all  my  life  long,  and  cleave  unto  thy  statutes  day  after  day. 
Then  in  death  I  shall  not  be  parted  from  Thee,  in  hell  1  shall 
not  be  cast  away  from  thy  presence.  But  Thou  wilt  refresh 
my  soul,  Thou  wilt  keep  me  in  safety,  until  Thou  shalt  appear 
in  Thy  glorious  body  an-d  restore  unto  me  my  body  after  Thine 
own  image. 


20— Vol.  X. 


GOD  GLORIFIED 


And  Christian  Obedience  Perfected 
in  the  Prostration  and  Suffer- 
ings of  Believers. 


A  DISCOURSE 

BY 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 


GOD  GLORIFIED. 


Col.  1 :34. 

Who  now  rejoice  in  any  sufferings  for  you,  and  fill  up  that  which  is 
behind  of  the  afflictions  of  Christ  in  my  tlesh  for  His  body's  sake,  which 
is  the  church. 

The  sufferings  to  which  we  and  our  loved  ones  are  subjected 
in  this  world  require — for  their  patient  endurance  and  spiritual 
improvement, — all  the  encouragement  and  support  afforded  by 
the  revelations  made  in  the  Gospel.  Blessed  be  God!  while, 
without  them  all  would  be  gloom,  and  christians  would  "of  all 
men  be  the  most  miserable," — these  consolatory  and  instructive 
disclosures  are  sufficient  to  enable  us  under  them  all  to  "stand 
fast  and  rejoice  in  the  hope  of  the  glory  of  God." 

I.  One  consideration  pressed  upon  us  by  the  word  of  God 
and  by  the  conviction  of  our  own  hearts  is,  that  be  our  trials 
what  they  may,  we  do  not  suffer  as  much  as  we  justly  might. 
We  may  be  enfeebled  by  bodily  or  mental  debility  ; — we  may  be 
incapacitated  for  doing  good  to  ourselves  or  others ; — we  may 
be  compassed  about  with  infirmity — we  may  be  impoverished 
in-  estate  or  bereaved  in  our  family, — but — ^be  our  endurance 
what  it  may — certain  it  is  it  might  be  greater,  heavier,  and 
more  hopeless  than  it  is.  And  were  God  to  enter  into  strict 
and  impartial  judgment  with  us,  and  to  deal  with  us  as  we 
deseiwe,  ''rendering  to  every  man  of  us  according  to  our  deeds," 
sure  it  is  that  we  should  deserve  and  receive  unmitigated,  and 
boundless  woe. 

Yes,  my  brethren,  if  the  curse  of  a  violated  law  falls  upon 
him  who  in  one  single  point  comes  short  of  absolute  and  perfect 
duty,  and  if  "our  own  hearts  condemn  us"  for  innumerable 
oft'ences  against  God, — against  His  law,  against  His  Son, 
against  His  Spirit,  against  His  Gospel,  and  against  His  whole 
requirements, — well  may  we  say  under  any  possible  affliction, 
"if  thou  Lord  shouldest  mark  iniquities,  oh,  Lord,  who  shall 
stand?"  and  well  may  we  exclaim  as  we  lie  under  the  burden  of 
our  most  overwhelming  grief,  "wherefore  should  a  living  man 
complain — a  man  for  the  punishment  of  his  sins?" 


310  GOD   GLORIFIED. 

II.  A  second  consideration  which  may  not  only  silence  com- 
plaint and  enable  us  to  perceive  "the  goodness  as  well  as  the 
severity  of  God,''  but  greatly  strengthen  and  encourage  us  to 
bear  them  patiently  is — that  under  the  dispensation  of  God's 
gracious  and  merciful  providence  in  Christ  Jesus,  all  our  trials 
are  made  to  lead  to  many  advantages.  They  constitute  a  test 
and  measure  of  our  faith,  love  and  obedience  to  God  and  thus 
save  us  from  self-delusion  and  hypocrisy.  (1  Pet.  1 :7 ;  James 
1:3.)  They  exercise,  and  thus  increase  and  strengthen  these 
and  every  other  grace  where  they  really  exist  and  thus  give  us 
comfort  and  hope  in  their  assured  reality.  (Rom.  5:3,  4.) 
They  beat  down,  mortify  and  subdue,  that  rebellious,  proud, 
and  stubborn  spirit  which  exalteth  itself  against  God  and  which 
cannot  otherwise  be  tamed  into  submission.  They  humble  our 
hearts  and  stir  them  up  to  earnest  and  importunate  supplication. 
(Job.  33, 16,  17,  18.)  They  manifest  the  great  power  and  good- 
ness of  God  in  giving  strength  and  endurance  to  our  weakness 
and  impatience  (2  Cor.  12:9), — in  making  them^  all  to  "work 
together  for  good," — and  having  thus  accomplished  their  pur- 
pose, in  delivering  us  from  them. 

As  it  regards  the  impenitent,  the  unbelieving  and  the  back- 
sliding— afflictions,  when  sanctified  by  God,  have  a  reclaiming 
efficacy  bringing  back  the  lost  sheep  to  the  Shepherd  and 
Bisihop  of  their  souls.  And  as  it  regards  the  penitent  and 
obedient,  the  returned  and  adopted  children  of  God  they  have 
a  corrective  tendency  and  are  administered  by  their  heavenly 
Father  "for  their  profit  that  they  may  be  made  partakers  of 
His  holiness !" 

When,  therefore,  we  come  to  recount  the  blessings  of  God 
in  this  present  stage  of  our  being,  and  even  now  when  under  a 
due  sense  of  our  destiny  and  duty  we  ask : 

For  what  shall  I  praise  thee,  my  God  and  my  King? 
For  what  blessings  the  tribute  of  gratitude  bring? 
Shall  I  praise  thee  for  pleasure,  for  health  and  for  ease, 
For  the  spring  of  delight,  and  the  sunshine  of  peace? 

Shall  I  praise  thee  for  flowers  that  bloomed  on  my  breast, 
For  joys  in  perspective,  and  pleasures  possessed? 
For  the  spirits  that  heightened  my  days  of  delight, 
And  the  sunshine  that  sat  on  my  pillows  by  night? 

For  this  should  I  praise !  but  if  only  for  this 
I  should  leave  half  untold  the  donation  of  bliss ; 
I  thank  thee  for  sickness,  for  sorrow,  for  care, 
For  the  thorns  I  have  gathered,  the  anguish  I  bear. 


GOD   GLORIFIED.  311 

For  nights  of  anxiety,  watchings  and  tears, 
A  present  of  pain,  a  perspective  of  fears, 
I  praise  thee,  I  bless  thee,  my  King  and  my  God, 
,  For  the  good  and  the  evil  thy  hand  hath  bestowed. 

The  flowers  were  sweet,  but  their  fragrance  is  flown  ; 
They  yielded  no  fruits,  they  are  withered  and  gone  ; 
The  thorn  it  was  poignant,  but  precious  to  me — 
'Twas  the  message  of  mercy — it  led  me  to  thee. 

III.  But  a  third  ground  of  encouragement  to  endure  with 
patient  resignation  the  trials  of  life  is.  that  under  them  all 
many  sources  of  consolation  are  opened  up  from  which  we  may 
freely  and  constantly  draw. 

However  bitter  and  trying  in  themselves  such  afflictions,  may 
be,  they  all  spring  from  a  father's  love  which  is  infinitely  kind 
and  which  will  not  suffer  us  to  be  tried  beyond  what  we  need, 
and  what  He  will  enable  us  to  bear. 

And  as  our  trials  spring  from  love,  so  they  conduce  to  the 
best  interests  and  highest  happiness  of  our  souls.  They 
"purify  our  souls"  from  the  dross  of  corruption.  They  bring 
forth  "the  fruits  of  righteousness,"  and  they  "work  out  for  us 
an  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory."  If,  therefore,  all 
is  good  that  leads  to-  good  and  all  is  well  that  ends  well,  how 
should  we  rejoice  "in  tribulations,"  which  are  not  worthy  of 
"the  glory  that  shall  be  shewed  unto  us."  All  our  trials  put 
into  the  balance  are  as  nothing  when  outweighed  by  heavenly 
bliss.  In  number,  in  measure,  and'  in  continuance  our  troubles 
are  few,  light,  and  momentary  when  compared  with  "that  whicb 
is  in  reserve."  The  one,  however  severe,  are  finite — ^the  other 
infinite.  The  one  can  be  fully  estimated,  the  other  "cannot  be 
uttered."  The  one  can  be  "endured  to  the  end,"  the  other 
while  in  the  :body  \vould  overwhelm  and  destroy  us  by  their 
insupportable  weight.  These  we  deserve,  and  were  they  mul- 
tiplied a  thousand  fold  could  in  no  degree  "be  worthy,"  or  in 
any  way  merit  heaven.  Between  the  one  and  the  other,  in 
short,  there  is  no  other  relation  than  that  of  a  sinner  justly 
suffering  and  a  Saviour  graciously  bestowing. 

IV.  These  considerations,  then,  might  suffice  to  "let  our 
patience  have  its  perfect  work."  But  there  is  a  still  higher 
and  more  blissful  motive  presented  to  us  in  "the  Gospel  of 
the  grace  of  God,"  and  that  is  that  our  afflictions  are  designed 
not  only  to  reclaim,  correct,  and  reprove,  but  to  perfect  and 


ol2  GOD   GLORIFIED. 

complete  our  redemption  and  the  measure  of  our  future  glory. 
"Christ  sufTfered  for  us,"  not  only  that  He  might  expiate  and 
atone  for  sin,  but  that  "He  might  leave  us  an;  example  so  that 
"in  all  our  ways  we  might  follow  His  steps."  (1  Pet.  3:21.) 
We  are  iby  faith  united  to  Him  so  as  to  become  "joint  heirs 
with  Christ,"  "if  so  be,"  that  is,  when  we  jointly  suffer  with 
Him."  And  are  called  thus  "jointly  to  suffer  with  Him"  that 
we  may  be  glorified  together.*  (Rom.  8  :1T  and  2  Tim.  2  :12.) 
As  our  Exemplar  Christ  "learned  obedience  by  the  things  w'hich 
He  suffered."  "He  endured  the  cross  and  despised  the  shame," 
and  thus  as  "the  Captain"  and  "Leader"  of  our  "salvation  was 
made  perfect  through  suffering."     (Heb.  2:10.) 

"There  is  a  needs  be  that  in  this  world  we  sbould  be 
afflicted."  Sin  must  bring  with  it  suffering,  and  while  "the 
whole  creation  therefore  groaneth  and  travaileth  in  pain,"  "we, 
too,  wbo  bave  the  first  fruits  of  the  Spirit  eveni  we  ourselves 
must  groan  within  ourselves  being  burdened,  waiting  for  the 
redemption  of  our  body"  from  the  curse,  by  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead,  and  for  our  deliverance  from  the  sorix)ws  of  the 
world  by  a  removal  out  of  it.     "For  we  are  saved  by  hope." 

Christ,  therefore,  in  order  to  become  a  complete,  perfect  and 
all-sufficient  Saviour,  "was  tried  and  afiflicted  in  all  points  as 
we  are"  and  as  we  must  be,  that  as  our  ever-living  High  Priest, 
Intercessor  and  Redeemer  He  might  be  "touched  with  a  feel- 
ing of  our  infirmities."  Our  trials,  therefore,  Christ  made 
His.  He  regards  them  as  His — ^as  born  for  Him, — ^as  endured 
in  imitation  of  Him — ^and  as  still  exemplifying  with  His  the 
curse  and  desert  of  sin  and  the  glory,  grace  and  bliss  of  salva- 
tion. For  these  ends  ohristians  are  noit  freed  from  suffering 
here  below\  They  are,  on  the  contrary,  "predestinated  to  be 
conformed  to  the  image  of  God's  Son"  (Rom.  8:20),  "and 
to  fill  up  that  which  is  behind  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ  in  our 
bodies." 

To  christians,  then,  it  is  given  not  only  to  believe  on  Christ, 
but  also  to  suffer  for  His  sake.  (Phil.  1 :  29.)  Christians  are 
the  many  members  which  compose  the  one  body  of  Christ. 
(1.  Cor.  12:12.)  And  as  He  "was  made  perfect  through  suf- 
fering"  so  is  it  "through  suffering  He  brings   His   sons  to 

*See  Macknight  on  loco. 


GOD   GLORIFIED.  313 

glory."  As  His  sufferings  are  ours  so  are  ours  His;  and  as 
our  shame  and  guilt  became  His  so  are  His  glory  and  righteous- 
ness made  ours.  "H,  then,  we  be  dead  with  Christ  we  shall 
also  live  with  Him,  and  if  we  suffer  with  Him  we  shall  also 
reign  together  with  Him."     {2  Tim.  2:11,  12.) 

"God  also  hath  highly  exalted  Christ  because  He  became 
obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross,"  and  for  the 
joy  set  before  Him  Christ  endured  this  cross  and  despised  the 
shame."  And  so  it  is  with  us.  The  way  of  the  cross  is  the 
royal  way  to  the  crown  and  the  bitterness  of  the  cross — tJwugh 
meriting  and  deserving  nothing — will,  through  the  munificence 
of  peace,  measure  the  brightness  and  the  glory  of  our  crown. 

How  well,  then,  my  hearers,  may  this  union  and  communion 
with  Christ  and  this  sympathy  of  Christ  in  our  suft'erings,  meet 
all  the  wants  and  difficulties  of  our  case,  and  solve  what — with- 
out the  Gospel — is  the  most  difficult  problem  in  the  universe,  a 
suffering,  afflicted,  and  enfeebled  child  and  servant  of  God. 
Under  weakness,  debility,  incapacity  to  active  service  in  the 
cause  of  Christ, — under  acute  painful,  protracted  and  mortal 
suffering,  under  poverty,  and  want  and  friendlessness,  and 
bereavement. — in  view  of  a  life  of  uneasiness  and  wasting  and 
a  sure  and  certain  dissolution; — let  this  communion  with 
Christ  in  suffering  here  and  in  glory  hereafter  uphold  and 
sustain  us.  Here  we  have  a  key  to  unlock  these  mysterious 
chastisements  and  an  interpreter  to  explain  and  vindicate  these 
dark  passages  in  the  history  of  God's  saints.  In  suffering  they 
are  "learning  obedience,"  they  are  being  "made  perfect  through 
suffering" — and  are  filling  up  the  residue  of  those  afflictions  of 
Christ's  body  w'hich  are  still  to  be  completed  by  His  followers. 
In  suffering  we  are  doing  His  will ;  serving  Him  in  the  way 
most  honorable  to  us  and  most  glorifying  to  Him. 

Let  this  comfort  us  when  we  see  our  plans  defeated,  our 
purposes  destroyed,  our  usefulness  crippled  or  at  an  end,  our 
health  and  energy  and  means  gone,  our  bed  converted  into  a 
prison  house  of  slow,  protracted  torture,  or  when  we  see  our 
friends  called  to  the  endurance  of  these  or  similar  trials. 

To  illustrate.  You  may  have  observed,  or  watched  over  a 
christian  who  appeared  mature  in  piety,  "ready  to  be  offered," 


311  GOD    GLORIFIED. 

fully  meet  for  the  inheritance  of  the  saints,  but  who  has  been 
long,  very  long  detained  under  the  grasp  of  cruel  disease, 
lingering  on  a  bed  of  pining  sickness,  racked  with  uniremitting 
pain:  or,  if  the  malady  has,  on  the  contrary,  been  rapid,  you 
have  witnessed  intense  pangs,  it  may  be,  which  seemed  to  pour 
"gall  and  wormwood"  into  the  'Very  bitterness  of  death;"  you 
have  been  led  to  ask  mournifully  at  such  a  sight, — why  is  all 
this — why  not  a  calmer  dismissal  of  the  prepared  and  expect- 
ing spirit?  Why  these  pains  prolonged,  or  accumulated,  or 
sharpened,  when  a  merciful  Father,  a  compassionate  Redeemer, 
is  about  to  receive  the  departing  and  beloved  sufferer  to  His 
own  embrace?  To  these  queries  we  must  accept,  and  may 
with  reason  accept,  the  scriptural  answer,  which  has  been 
repeatedly  addressed.  He,  beloved  sufferer,  though  an)  adopted 
son,  is  still  "learniing  obedience;"  attaining  that  last  and  highest 
gradation  of  perfective  endurance  which  worketh  for  him  "a. 
far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory."  The  grace 
by  which  he  endures  this  final  test  "not  charging  God  fool- 
ishly," but  trusting  in  His  wise  and  merciful  design, — although 
it  be  God's  own  gift,  and  can  afford  nO'  shadow  of  a  plea  for 
boasting, — shall  be  "counted  worthy"  of  a  rich  and  "full 
reward."  By  these  pains  and  languishings  is  he  brought  into 
closest  union,  into  closest  conformity  with  Him  that  "endured 
the  cross."  The  human  exaltation  of  our  Lord  Himself  has 
been  ascribed  to  that  endurance  as  its  cause.  He  "became 
obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross ;  wherefore 
God  also  hath  highly  exalted  Him,  and  given  Him  a  name 
which  is  above  every  name."  Surely,  then,  by  the  various 
forms  of  bodily  and  mental  sufferings,  as  probably  as  by  any 
mode  of  faithfulness  in  active  duties,  may  His  followers  be 
appointed  to  graduate  for  their  stetionis  in  His  "Father's  house 
to  "procure  to  themselves  an  excellent  degree ;"  to  be  "counted 
worthy  of  double  honour;"  to  have  "an  entrance  ministered  to 
them  richly  into  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  their  Lord  and 
Saviour ;"  to  be  numbered  with  those  who  "came  out  of  great 
tribulation,  wItjo  are  before  the  throne  of  God  and  serve  Him 
day  and  night  in  His  Temple." 

Let  it  be  impressed  on  our  minds  in  reference  to  such,  that 
those  friends  or  brethren  of  Christ  most  strictly  and  precisely 


GOD    GLORIFIED.  315 

"suffer  with  Him,"  just  so  far  as  their  sufferings  have  in  them 
what  is  beyond;  or  above  the  corrective  character.  But  the 
more  they  suffer  "with,"  or  Hke  their  Master,  the  more  pre- 
eminently, doubtless,  shall  they  "reign  with  Him." 

Now  doomed  to  an  obscure  or  suffering  state, 

Is  pleased  with  it,  and,  were  he  free  to  choose. 

Would  make  his  fate  his  choice  ;  whom  peace  the  fruit 

Of  virtue,  and  whom  virtue  fruit  of  faith. 

Prepare  for  happiness  ;  bespeak  him  one 

Content  indeed  to  sojourn  while  he  must 

Below  the  skies,  but  having  there  his  home. 

Let  God  then  appoint  our  lot  and  let  us  be  contented  in 
•whatsoever  it  may  be  because  it  is  His.*  If  enfeebled  and  laid 
aside  from  much  active  duties  do  not  yield  to  the  thought  that 
in  your  actual  state,  you  are  wholly  incapable  of  contributing 
to  the  good  of  others.  Not  only  may  such  degrees  of  resigna- 
tion as  you  are  enabled  tO'  evince  be  highly  instructive,  but  it 
may  be  found  at  last  though  this  would  be  no  sound  plea  for 
carelessness  of  proficiency,  or  in  the  choice  of  means,  that  God 
has  often  dhosen  to  accomplish  most  good  by  the  weakest 
instruments,  or  by  the  stronger  when  in  some  way  incomplete. 
Even  a  skilful  artisan  sometimes  effects  more  with  a  worn  or 
fractured  tool,  on  account  of  some  particular  adaptation  in  it 
to  his  special  purpose,  than  he  might  have  done  with  a  whole 
assortment  of  the  brightest  and  the  keenest.  If  you  have  long 
used  endeavours,  always  imperfect,  and  sometimes  most  dis- 
tressingly feeble,  for  the  good  of  those  around  you,  have  you 
not  been  now  and  then  remindied  of  words  which  you  are  quite 
coniscious  were  spoken  in  weakness,  or  of  some  small  gift 
bestowed  amidst  dejection,  which  yet  appear  to  have  been  not 
without  results?  How  can  you  be  certain  but  that,  after  all, 
the  seeds  which  shall  "prosper"  most,  will  be  not  those  which 
you  scattered  with  a  strong  arm  and  an  elastic  step,  but  which 
you  dropped  almost  at  random,  when  weary  and  "in  heavi- 
ness?" 

Do  not,  therefore,  cast  into  the  cup  new  ingredients  of 
despondency,  nor  make  it  bitterly  effervesce  by  your  repinings. 
Do  not  omit  duties,  if  at  present  indispensable,  because  they 
are  burdensome  nor  abandon'  others  permanently,  because  they 
can  not  at  this  season  be  performed.     Pursue,  however  feebly, 

*Shepard,  289,  290. 


316  GOD    GLORIFIED. 

what  is  fittest  now  to  be  pursued.  The  sick  or  wounded  sol- 
dier can  not  make  a  rapid  march  or  hold  the  front  of  battle. 
But  he  may,  perhaps,  be  the  senitinel  even  of  today.  He  may 
occupy  the  trench  or  rampart;  and  if  not  even  so — shall  he 
therefore  cast  away  his  armour?  Another  sun,  another  con- 
flict, may  find  him,  re-endued  with  strength  and  ardour  among 
the  foremost  bands.  Meantime  forget  not,  "they  also  serve 
who  only  stand  and  wait:"  and  that  service,  as  performed  in 
weakness  and  in  loneliness,  may  be  the  hardest  of  all ;  the  most 
decisive  of  their  loyalty  and  faithful  zeal. 

A  submissive  and  grateful  endurance  of  those  afflictions 
which  are  coinmon  to  all  (but  of  which  believers  may  usually 
expect  an  ample  share.)  with  a  special  reference  to  their  Mas- 
ter's will,  miust  be  now  amongst  the  strongest  proofs  of  their 
allegiance  and  their  trust. 

Thy  servants  militant  below 

Have  each.  O  Lord,  their  post ; 
As  thou  appointest,  who  best  doth  know 

The  soldiers  of  thine  host : 
Some  in  the  van  thou  call'st  to  do 

And  the  day's  heat  to  share  ; 
And  in  the  rearward  not  a  few 

Thou  only  bidd'st  to  bear. 

taA  brighter  crown,  perchance,  is  theirs, 

To  the  mid  battle  sent ; 
But  he  thy  glory  also  shares 

Who  waits   beside  the   tent  ; 
More  bravely  done,  in  human  eyes. 

The  foremost  post  to  take  ; 
My  Saviour  will  not  those  despise 

That  suffer  for  His  sake. 

More  honored  others,  Lord,  may  be, 

But  keep  me  near  thy  throne  ; 
Light  in  thy  light  content  to  see 

And  never  in  mine  own  ; 
To  keep  their  goal  and  mine  in  view, 

Delighted  to  sit  still. 
And  evermore,  if  not  to  do, 

At  least  to  bear  thy  will. 

They  need  their  Lord,  thy  special  Grace. 

That  fight  in  this  world's  view  ; 
But  in  the  sick  room,  face  to  face, 

Is  Satan  vanquished  too  : 
Both  need  the  same  protecting  hand 

To  keep  them  undefiled  ; 
And  both  shall  in  thy  presence  stand 

Thy  martyr  and  thy  child. 

Brethren!  such  was  the  faith  and  patience  of  patriarchs,  of 
prophets,  of  apostles  and  of  martyrs,  who  "rejoiced  that  they 
were  counted  worthy  to  suffer  for  the  name  of  Jesus."     "The 


GOD    GLORIFIED.  317 

more  sorely  I  am  borne  down  by  present  evils,"  says  Gregory, 
"the  more  surely  do  I  anticipate  future  joys."  And  for  the 
joy  that  was  set  before  them  have  millions  endured  the  cross 
and  this  much  tribulation  entered  the  kingdom  of  God."  When 
called  to  follow  Christ  up  this  steep  and  thorny  path  let  us  not 
then  think  that  we  are  led  by  some  new  path  untried  before, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  remember  that, 

The  self-same  promise  as  of  yore 

Supports  the  self-same  need  ; 

The  faith  for  which  the  saints  endured 

The  dungeon  or  the  stake, 
That  very  faith  with  hearts  assured 

Upon  our  lips  we  take. 

God  grant  that  our  faith  may  be  in  our  hearts  and  not  on  our 
lips,  that  when  our  days  of  darkness  and  of  trial  come  we  may 
be  partakers  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ  and  be  thus  sustained 
with  the  hope  of  a  participation  in  His  glory.  If  we  endure 
affliction  with  the  same  spirit  of  obedience  and  resignation  to 
the  will  of  God,  by  which  Christ  was  animated  during  the 
whole  course  of  His  passion  up  to  the  moment  of  dissolution; 
and  if  our  sufferings  have  the  effect  of  mortifying  and  sub- 
duing sin  as  His  meritoriously  took  away  the  curse  and  the  pen- 
alty of  sin; — Uhen  may  we  be  assured  that  we  suffer  with 
Christ,  that  we  have  our  trials,  communion  and  fellowship  with 
Him,  endure  that  cross  which  He  also  endures  and  sanctifies, 
and  fill  up  our  measure  of  those  sufferings  which  remain  to  be 
borne  hy  His  church  and  people ;  and  then  may  we  feel  assured 
that  just  as  certainly  as  we  suffer  anid  just  to  that  extent  in 
which  we  suffer,  we  shall  be  glorified  with  Him.  Being  here 
counted  worthy  to  partake  with  Christ  in  His  cross  and  suffer- 
ing we  shall  hereafter  be  partakers  in  His  kingdom  and  glory. 
Everlasting  joy  shall  be  upon  our  heads  and  sorrow  and 
mourning  shall  flee  away. 


HEAVEN. 


Rev.  21:25. 
Ni;|  7a9  01/77  ecrlai  erjec. 


A  DISCOURSE 

BY 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D, 


HEAVEN 


Rev.  21 :25. 

There  shall  be  no  night  there. 

The  frequent  contemplation  of  that  future  state  of  being  of 
which  we  are  pre-monished  and  which  in  duration'  and  impor- 
tance immeasurably  transcends  the  present — is  evidently  the 
duty  of  every  maui.  The  bare  possibility  that  he  may  arrive  at 
old  age  and  to  its  helpless  imbecility,  is  found  to  be  a  motive 
sufficiently  powerful  to  call  forth  in  man  the  industrious  cal- 
culations and  the  untiring  exertions  for  securing  those  com- 
forts he  may  then  require.  The  youth  commences  his  toil- 
some ascent  upon  the  rough  hill  of  science  ini  the  distant  hope 
that  though  now  his  way  be  difficult  and  his  prospects  obscured 
a  time  will  come  when  he  shall  gain  some  quiet  resting  place 
and  securely  and  tranquilly  gaze  back  upon  the  path  he  trod. 
The  man  of  genius  urges  om  his  way  amidst  the  accumulating 
pressure  of  the  ills  of  life  and  with  the  most  exhausting  and 
uncheered  efforts,  while  all  around  are  busied  with  their  pres- 
ent necessities,  builds  for  himself  a  dwelling  place  in  that 
unentered  region  of  fame  where  'he  hopes  to^  be  immortalized. 
The  existance  of  a  principle  in  man  by  which  he  makes  the 
present  subservient  as  a  period  of  preparation  tO'  the  attaint- 
ment  of  a  future  good  might  in  this  way  be  illustrated  from 
the  conduct  of  man  in  every  period  and'  condition  of  society. 
It  is  the  wise  implantation  of  our  heavenly  parent  and  wdiile  it 
fits  us  for  a  rational  enjoyment  of  the  present  life  it  is  in  its 
ultimate  design  given  to  induce  us  to  make  preparation  for  the 
life  to  come.  There  is,  perhaps,  more  than  a  mere  superficial 
or  poetic  truth  in  that  analogical  resemblance  which  is  found  in 
O'ur  present  condition  to  that  transformation  which  many 
insects  and  all  animals  in  some  degree  undergo  in  their  passage 
from  one  state  of  being  to-  another. 

These  precious  souls  with  which  we  are  endowed  may  be 
but  lodged  in  these  clay  vestures  as  is  the  insect  in  its  little 
covering.  One  difference  it  is  important  should  be  felt  by  us. 
While  the  insect  may  in  this  period  of  formation  be  passive  in 

;n— Vol.  X. 


332  HEAVEN. 

its  advancing  change,  man  is  gifted  with  an  activity,  a  freedom 
and  an  inteUigence  which  constitute  within  him  a  moral  respon- 
sibility and  he  is  called  upon  with  all  diligence  to  exert  himself 
in  the  great  business  of  hiis  coming  change.  All  the  days  of  his 
appointed  time  must  be  in  waiting  till  his  change  come.  But, 
oh,  how  especially  necessary  is  this,  now  that  an  epidemic 
of  depravity  has  spread  its  despoiling  ravages  over  our  world, 
and  infected  with  its  pollution  eveiy  individual  of  our  race. 

This  tabernacle  in  which  we  dwell  is  defiled  with  the  leprosy 
of  sin,  and  commuracates  its  deadly  uncleanness  to  the  soul. 
Both  are  now  hastening  to  a  consummatioo  when,  if  the  cleans- 
ing efficacy  of  the  blood  of  Jesus,  be  not  obtained  to  their  puri- 
fication, the  hour  of  their  separation  sball  ibe  the  commence- 
ment of  an  existence  of  hopeless  misery.  To  every  rational 
mind  the  yielding  of  a  paramount  consideration  to  the  vast 
concerns  of  eternity,  must  therefore  appear  wise  and  prudent. 

To  the  christian  such  a  swallowing  up  of  the  present  in  the 
future,  such  a  constant  journeying  into  the  unseen  realities  of 
eternity,  that  from  the  height  of  their  everlasting  hills  he  may 
take  a  view  of  the  shadowy  littleness  of  the  things  which  are 
seen  and  tem]>oral — such  a  balancing  of  the  present  with  the 
future,  that  every  feeling,  desire  and  effort  may  go  to  the 
working  out,  by  the  direction  of  heavenly  grace,  that  salvation 
which  will  capacitate  him  for  %n  entrance  upon  those  new 
heavens  and  new  earth  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness — such 
to  the  christian  is  his  highest  ambition. 

And  this  very  frequency  of  contemplation  of  those  glories 
that  are  reserved  in  heaven  and  of  those  bright  characters  that 
form  its  indwellers  and  of  that  God  who  is  its  Sun,  that  Lamb 
who  is  the  hght  thereof — is  in  the  order  of  means  one  of  the 
most  powerful  and  efficient  causes  of  that  sanctification  of 
heart  by  which  the  inhabitants  of  earth  are  assimilated  to  the 
pure  and  spotless  inhabitants  of  heaven.  The  soul  which  is 
thus  taught  by  the  Spirit  of  God  to  soar  upwards,  soon  gains 
an  eagle  strength  of  vision  by  which  it  can  gaze  without  being 
dazzled  into  darkness,  upon  this  canopy  of  glory,  and  an 
eagle's  strength  by  which  it  can  overcome  the  gross  resistance 
of  earth,  and  sustain  itself  in  its  high  element  of  purity.  It  is 
therefore  a  most  blessed  privilege  of  that  christian  that  he  can 


HEAVEN.  323 

ever  press  forward  towards  the  prize  of  his  high  calUng — that 
he  can  ever  look  to  this  hope  which  is  thus  set  before  him — 
and  that  when  within  him  there  is  darkness  and  anxiety  and 
grief  he  can  look  upward  to  that  temple  not  made  with  hands, 
where  there  is  sounding  forth  the  unoeasing  anthems  of  glory, 
and  w^here  he  himself  soon  hopes  to  become  a  worshipper. 

It  is  for  this  purpose  that  the  representations  of  heaven  are 
so  numerous  and  so  varied  in  the  pages  of  Revelation.  It  may 
be  compared  to  a  panorama  where  there  is  exhibited  to  the 
view  in  every  light  most  likely  to  attract  and  gratify  it  this 
celestial  Paradise.  In  our  text  we  are  supposed  to  direct  our 
view  from  the  midst  of  darkness  and  are  informed  in  illustra- 
tion of  the  prospect  stretched  out  before  us — that  there  is  no 
night  there.  There  are  some  very  striking  and  correct  ideas 
conveyed  to  our  minds  under  this  similitude. 

Ignorance  and  unbelief  are  exposed  to  us  in  Scripture  under 
the  symbol  of  night.  While  here,  we  are  in  darkness.  We  see 
through  a  glass  darkl}-.  We  know  only  in  part,  God  moves 
before  us  in  a  mysterious  way.  His  dealings  towards  us  are 
conducted  behind  the  veil  O'f  His  invisibility.  There  are  evi- 
dences of  His  power  and  of  His  goodness  within  us,  and  about 
us,  which  convince  us  that  though  darkness  is  round  about 
Him,  yet  the  Lord  liveth  and  reigneth.  Our  bodily  eyes  see 
Him  not,  but  as  the  wind  bloweth  where  it  Hsteth  and  we  can 
not  tell  whence  it  cometh  nor  whither  it  goeth  so  does  God  rule 
amongst  the  inhabitants  of  earth.  We  are  placed  in  the  midst 
of  that  wide  infinity  of  His  moral  government  and  we  gaze 
upon  it  as  we  do  upon  the  wide  immensity  of  His  works  in  the 
heavens  above  us,  with  the  imperfect  comprehension  of  a  few 
of  its  twinkling  exhibitions.  And  ever  as  we  move  among 
these  surrounding  wonders  w-e  walk  by  faith  and  not  by  sight. 
The  Lord  goes  before  us  in  His  providence  and  in  His  grace 
in  a  pillar  of  fire  to  lead  us  during  the  night  of  our  far  distant 
wanderings,  but  blessed  be  His  holy  name,  each  christian  heart 
can  say,  "The  night  is  far  spent,  the  day  is  at  hand,"  when  we 
shall  no  longer  guide  our  steps  by  the  struggling  moonHght  and 
the  uncertain  stars,  but  when  we  shall  walk  in  the  light  of  the 
unsetting  Sun  of  Righteousness.  For  there  shall  be  no  night 
in  heaven. 


324  HEAVEN. 

Nighit  is  the  time  of  dreams,  w'hen  the  imprisooed  thoughts 
steal  past  the  slumbering  sentinels  of  the  senses  and  take  stolen 
glimpses  at  the  world  without.  And  what  are  all  the  visionary 
expectations  of  sublunary  happiness?  What  the  gay  visions 
of  youth?  What  the  unrelinquished  fancies  of  manhood? 
What  the  unsatisfied  yearnings  of  every  beating  heart?  What 
are  they  but  dreams  formed  from  the  gathered  sparkles  which 
beam  upon  the  surface  of  an  ocean  dark  and  boisterous  ?  And 
our  knowledge  of  the  past,  our  judgment  of  the  present,  our 
understanding  of  the  future,  our  views  of  immortality,  our 
apprehenision  of  the  nature  and  the  character  of  God,  of  Christ 
and  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  our  comprehension  of  this  narrow 
neck  of  space  and  time  on  which,  as  it  lies  between  two  immen- 
sities we  now  find  ourselves, — what  are  they  but  the  dim  vision 
of  the  night?  These  dreams  shall  vanish — the  visions  shall 
roll  ofif — ^these  dim  uncertainties  shall  burst  from  their  obscur- 
ity— these  gazings  through  the  open  vistas  of  heaven  into  the 
far  ofif  world  of  glory  shall  have  every  cloud  of  intervention 
removed,  and  we  shall  wake  up  as  does  a  man  from  an  unquiet 
and  feverish  sleep,  from  a  troublesome  and  sorrowing  dream, 
to  mingle  with  the  rapturing  certainties  and  full  discovered 
blessedness  of  heaven — for — "there  shall  be  no  night  there." 

Night  is  the  time  of  watchings.  By  land  and  by  sea,  and  in 
the  city,  faithful  guardians  keep  their  watch  by  night  to  pre- 
serve the  sleeping  from  danger  and  the  living  from  death. 

And  the  christian  ever  keeps  up  a  vigilant  circumspection 
and  guards  with  jealous  caution  every  avenue  to  his  heart. 
He  is  in  a  land  of  strangers — he  is  in  the  midst  of  foes — he  is 
opposed  by  the  treacherous  friendship  and  in  the  insinuating 
artfulness  of  the  world — he  is  expo'sed  to  the  wiles  and  the 
deceits  of  the  wicked  one — and  the  cry  must  ever  be  going  forth 
to  the  sentinels  of  his  heart,  "Watchmen  what  of  the  night?" 
He  is  in  a  state  of  constant  insecurity.  There  are  fears  with- 
out, there  is  purturbation  within.  He  feels  helpless  against 
the  attack  of  death,  who  comes  to  him  clothed  in  the  terrors  of 
darkness.  He  knows  not  that  he  is  safe.  Soon,  however,  the 
weariness  shall  be  over  and  the  christian  shall  he  down  in  the 
tranquility  of  calm  repose,  and  shall  fold  his  arms  to  rest,  and 
in  the  security  that  no  danger  is  near,  that  no  storm  is  at  hand, 


HEAVEN.  335 

lie  shall  sink  into  the  arms  of  heavenily  joy.  For  there  shall 
be  no  might  there. 

During  night  there  is  the  absence  of  the  sun.  The  earth 
looks  cheerl'ess  and  deserted.  Its  beau)ties  lie  concealed,  and 
all  its  rich  variety  of  landscape  has  vanished.  And  so  it  is  with 
the  christian.  He  is  now  absent  from  that  Go'd  who  is  his  Sun 
and  shield.  While  present  in  the  body  he  is  absent  from  that 
Redeemer  who  is  his  Lord  and  Life.  There  are  times,  too, 
when  this  Sun  of  the  christian  is  esclipsed,  when  ithe  earth  ami 
earthly  engrossments  pass  between  him  and  his  God  and  coi> 
ceal  Him  from  His  glory.  An  obscuration  is  thrown  around 
his  path.  A  gloom  and  a  heaviness  take  poissession  of  his  soul. 
The  damp  and  chilly  dews  of  a  perturbing  disquietude  fall 
heavily  upon  him.  The  night  winds  blow  upon  him  in-  cold  and 
sterilizing  frostiness.  His  sky  is  starless.  He  wanders  on  a 
rayless,  starless  path,  seeking,  hke  the  spouse  for  his  well 
beloved,  and  crying  out,  oh,  tliat  I  could  find  Him  whom  my 
soul  loveth !  Oh,  that  it  were  with  me  as  in  days  that  are  past 
when  the  comforts  of  the  Lord  refreshed  my  soul !  He  looks 
up  like  David  out  of  the  depth.  He  goes  mourning  all  the  day 
long  aJTicl  in  the  f  ruitlessness  of  his  efforts  to  recover  his  tran- 
quility— he  wishes  for  the  wings  of  a  dove  that  he  might  flee 
away  and  be  at  rest. 

Christian,  these  wings  shall  be  given  you,  and  you  shall  wing 
your  upward  flight  to  your  own  bright  region  in  the  skies. 
There  shall  be  no  night  there  to  hide  from  you  your  Sun,  no 
dews  to  damp,  no  frost  to  chill,  no  clouds  to  darken,  no  hiding 
of  a  Saviour's  love,  no  flickering  of  the  dying  lamp  light  of 
your  peace  and  joy,  no  alterations  of  hope  and  despair,  of  faith 
and  doubting  unbelief,  of  love  and  fear.  For  "there  shall  be 
no  night  there." 

Night  is  the  season  of  inactivity,  when  the  weary  sink  into 
the  arms  of  nature's  kind  restorer,  balmy  sleep. 

It  will  not  be  so  in  heaven.  There  will  in  this  respect  cer- 
tainly be  no  night  there  for  the  beasts  and  the  four  and  twenty 
elders  representatives  of  the  host  of  heaven,  cease  not  night 
nor  day  in  praising  Him  who  sitteth  upon  the  throne  and  the 
Lamb  for  ever.  Our  transformation  sihall  then  be  completed. 
Our  souls  shall  burst  the  shells  that  cover  them.     These  latent 


326  HEAVEN. 

energies  of  thought,  anid  this  high  soaring  imagination,  and  this 
loftiness  of  conception  and  all  the  noble  faculties  of  the  soul 
now  manifested  in  their  confinement  and  in  their  feebleness — 
shall  then  expand  into  immortal  vigor,  and  we  shall  plume 
ourselves  for  the  unwearying  activities  of  heaven.  We  shall 
rest  indeed  from  all  fatigue  and  labouring  disquietude  that  we 
may  go  forward  in  an  unceasing  exercise  of  our  holy  principles 
and  faculties  in  the  service  of  Him  to  whose  image  it  will  be 
our  ever  increasing  desire  to  be  assimilated.  Sleep  is  a  neces- 
sity resulting  from  the  body,  and  from  all  such  necessities  we 
shall  there  ibe  freed,  and  freed  not  certainly  to  sink  down 
into  the  dreaming  contemplations  which  form  the  heaven  of  the 
Mussulman,  but  to  wake  up  to  an  endless  progression  in  all  the 
activities  of  holiness. 

Night  is  the  season  of  solitude.  And  there  is  nothing  so 
oppressive,  so  productive  of  a  morbid  melancholy,  so  consump- 
tive of  every  thing  like  enjoyment  as  loneliness.  We  are  essen- 
tially social  in  our  natures.  But  we  are  ever  defeated  in  our 
attempted  entrance  into  the  hiearts  of  those  we  love,  there  is  a 
boundary  of  stern  limitation  which  we  can  not  pass,  there  is  a 
wall  of  separating  materiality  erected  between  us,  there  is  a 
veil  of  flesh  behind  which  there  may  be  lurking  the  dark  sus- 
picion and  the  secrecy  of  a  reserved  confidence  and  an  unyield- 
ing unbosoming  of  the  soul,  and  we  find  ourselves  thrown  back 
upon  our  own  loneliness  to  con  over  the  bitterness  of  our  own 
souls.  We  burn  with  the  desire  for  a  society  of  spirits  but  after 
heaping  up  one  mountain  upon  another  in  the  hope  of  gaining 
an  ascent  to  this  region  of  untrammelled  and  intelligent  com- 
munion, do  we  find  ourselves  still  grovelling  among  the  ele- 
ments of  a  mere  external  and  sensible  interchange.  In  heaven 
it  will  not  be  so.  There  every  wall  of  separation  will  be  broken 
down,  every  veil  of  obscuration  shall  be  removed,  and  we  shall 
expatiate  in  all  the  freedom  of  a  full  and  an  entire  sympathy. 
And  when  faith  and  hope  are  gone,  then  shall  charity  remain 
and  fill  the  bosom  of  every  worshipper  in  that  wide  and  general 
assembly  and  form  a  deep  ocean  of  love  in  which  all  the  family 
of  God  shall  commingle  in  their  joyous  harmony. 

There  is  in  sleep  a  near  similitude  to  death.  In  this  mysteri- 
ous state  man  seems  to  approach  the  verge  of  existence  and  to 


HEAVEN.  327 

look  out  upon  the  dark  of  aniniliilationi.  There  is  a  shadowy 
nonentity  overspreading  this  midnight  time  of  cahii  and  serenity 
when  all  the  bustle  and  activity  and  moving  forms  of  day  have 
sunk  beiueaih  the  unmoving  surface  of  Repo'se.  And  there  are 
human  beings  (by  me  pitied  and  comipassionated  they  are)  who 
make  a  voluntary  descent  into  the  cave  of  Pluto  and  who  will 
violently  assert  of  all  these  animated  intelligences  who  consti- 
tute their  brethren  of  mankind,  that  they  are  but  the  dull 
shadows  of  a  material  reflection  and  that  like  shadows  they 
vanish  into  annihilation.  That  their  appearance  here  is  tran- 
sient we  willingly  allow,  but  it  is  the  brief  transit  of  a  comet 
which  passes  by  into  its  far  journeyings  into  the  heavens 
beyond.  There  is  no  such  night  beyond  the  grave.  Beloved 
we  shall  all  sleep,  the  sleep  of  death.  But  in  the  twinkling  of 
an  eye  when  the  last  trump  shall  sound  we  shall  rise  on  the 
resurrection  morn  with  this  corruption  changed  into  incorrup- 
tion,  and  this  mortal  into  immortality,  to  the  enjoyment  of 
heaven's  eternal  day  and  there  shall  be  no  night  there. 

Night  is  the  season  when  the  gay  votaries  of  pleasure,  and 
the  fond  devotees  of  fashion,  and  the  thoughtless  and  sportive 
seekers  after  gaiety,  and  the  throng  of  revellers,  all  join  to 
throw  around  the  scene  those  fascinating  attraction's  which  like 
the  false  lights  of  the  desert  lure  only  tO'  destruction. 

But  there  shall  be  no  such  night  in  heaven — nor  zi'ill  there 
be  any  night  revellers  there.  The  peals  of  merry  jocularity, 
and  the  loud  and  frequent  burst  of  an  uninitelligible  laughter 
and  all  the  festivities  of  gaiety  shall  there  be  for  ever  hus'hed. 
Their  voice  shall  not  be  heard.  Their  discordant  sounds  sliall 
not  break  in  upon  the  angel  melody  which  shall  rise  from  harps 
and  cornets  as  they  praise  the  Almighty's  name.  Their  uproar 
and  confusion  and  all  their  attendant  and'  disquieting  concomi- 
tants, and  their  sad  and  harrassing  consequences  shall  not  dis- 
turb the  sweet  and  peaceful  harmony,  which  shall  fill  all  hearts 
in  heaven — for,  "there  shall  be  no  night  there." 

Night  is  strongly  symbolical  of  adversity  and  affliction  of 
want  and  famine.  Thus  it  is  said  in  Job  30 :  3 :  "For  want 
and  famine  they  were  solitary,"  and  the  same  afflicted  Patri- 
arch from  amidst  the  darkness  of  his  grief  could  exclaim : 
"Wearisome  nights  are  appointed  unto  me."     All  the  night  did 


o'lS  HEAVEN. 

the  mourning  and  distressed  Psalmisit  make  his  bed  to  swim 
with  tears,  and  in  the  night  season'  diid  he  cry.  It  was  at  night 
our  blessed  Saviour  was  retired  from  His  disciples  and  endured 
the  agony  of  that  bloody  sweat,  and  walked  to  and,  fro  in  the 
bitterness  of  His  anguish  and  sunk  in  prostrated:  misery  on  the 
ground.  And  the  night  of  their  sojournings  here  is  to  His 
followers  a  night  of  sorrowing.  Like  Him  who  as  the  Captain 
of  their  salvation  was  made  perfect  through  suffering  that  He 
might  bring  many  sons  to  glory — are  they  now  for  a  season  in 
heaviness  through  manifold  tribulations.  Temptations  abound, 
their  sinfulness  abounds,  and  a  Father's  love  visits  them,  with 
its  kind  chas'tenings  and  its  cup  of  sanctifying  bitterness.  We 
must  pass  through  the  valley  of  affliction  to  reach  the  heights 
of  glory.  We  must  travel  through  the  wilderness  to  arrive  at 
the  land  of  promise.  We  must  pass  over  Jordan  and  through 
the  surging  embankments  of  the  sea  toi  land  in  the  heavenly 
Canaan  and  gain  a  refuge  froin  the  pursuing  enemies  of  our 
souls.  But  blessed  be  our  God  that  though  weeping  may 
endure  for  a  night  joy  cometh  in  the  morning.  Yes,  weeping 
christian,  yes  disconsolate  believer,  yes,  afflicted  saint,  the  night 
christian,  yes,  disconsolate  believer,  yes.  afflicted  saint,  the  night 
ushers  in  the  morn,  and  then  shall  all  your  sorrowing  melt 
away  and  merge  into  the  unclouded  blessedness  of  unsullied 
joy. 

Oh.  weep  not  for  the  joys  that  fade 

Like  evening  lights  away — 
For  hopes,  that  like  the  stars  decayed 

Have  left  thy  mortal  day ; 
For  clouds  of  sorrow  will  depart, 

And  brilliant  skies  be  given, 
And  tho'  on  earth  the  tear  may  start — 
Yet  bliss  awaits  the  holy  heart 

Amid  the  towers  of  heaven. 

Night  is  also  emblematic  of  death.  And  it  is  in  this  view 
that  we  are  exhorted  to  work  while  it  is  called  day,  seeing 
that  the  night  cometh,  when  no  man  cam  work,  for  there  is 
neither  wisdom,  knowledge,  nor  device  ini  the  grave  to  which 
we  are  all  hastening. 

And  is  not  this  life  a  time  of  death,  and  this  world  a  world  of 
death  ?  And  when  we  reflect  upon  the  countless  multitude  who 
now  people  the  land  of  death,  and  compare  with  them  the  few 
who  are  existing  we  may  well  exclaim,  This — 'this  is  solitude. 


HEAVEN.  329 

Oh  who  is  there  that  has  not  been  reminded  of  this  solitude? 
Who  mourns  not  for  departed  friends,  who  sits  not  at  the 
enrt:rance  of  the  tomb  and  wishfully  remembers  those,  whom  its 
unrelenting  portals  have  for  ever  separated  from  his  earthly 
view  ?  We  have  more  relatives  in  the  grave  thani  ever  we 
shall  have  in  the  world.  And  when  we,  too,  mingle  with  the 
dust  we  shall  find  ourselves  not  passing  from  the  endearments 
of  an  affectionate  acquaintancesihip  to  the  coldness  of  an  unin- 
terested and  unknowing  assembly,  but  we  shall  return  from  a 
land  of  exile,  where  we  ever  felt  the  stranger's  heart,  to  the 
welcoming  gratulations  of  friends  read}^  to  receive  us  into 
mansions  of  glory. 

And  to  conclude  we  may  remark,  that  night  is  representative 
of  the  whole  term  of  our  continuance  here  below.  That  term 
is  a  term  of  probation.  It  is  a  time  for  preparation!.  It  decides 
our  eternal  destinies.  Our  allotment  in  futurity  depends  upon 
our  choice  in  time.  Believe  me,  dear  hearers,  there  is  no  night 
of  long  suffering,  patience  and  forbearance  there,  for  those  who 
will  abuse  to  licentiousness  instead  of  improving  to  repentance 
that  long  suffering  goodness  here.  There  is  no  treasure  of 
happiness  there  for  those  who  lay  up  for  themselves  a  treasure 
of  wrath  here.  There  is  no  salvation  then  for  those  who 
neglect  it  here.  This  night  of  probation  is  almost  gone — the 
dawn  of  an  unalterable  eternity  is  almost  begun.  Oh,  be  wise. 
Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou  shalt  be  saved. 
Heaven  will  be  begun  below  and  you  will  finish  your  course  in 
heaven.  And  may  the  God  of  all  comfort  comfort  you  in 
Christ  Jesus. 


ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM 


BY  THE 

REV.  THOMAS  SMYTH,  D.  D. 

Pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church, 
Charleston,  S.  C. 


ARTICLE  I. 

A  Form  for  the  Service  of  Baptism — Baptism  a  Testimony 
TO  the  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity  in  Unity. 

Christian  Brethren  :  As  I  am  now  about  to  administer 
the  sacramental  rite  of  baptism,  to  this  child;  acting  in  the 
name  and  by  the  authority  of  that  Divine  Master,  of  whom  I 
am  an  ordained  minister,  I  will  first  call  your  attention  to  the 
institution  of  this  ordinance  as  you  will  find  it  recorded  in 
Math  28:19. 

"Go  ye  therefore  and  teach  all  nations,  baptiziiig  them  in 
the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost." 

Let  me  now  call  your  attention  to  some  remarks  in  explana- 
tion of  the  mature  of  this  holy  ordinance: 

Sacraments  are  holy  signs  and  seals  of  the  covenant  of 
grace,  immediately  instituted  iby  God,  to  represent  Christ  and 
His  benefits;  and  to  confirm  our  interest  in  Him;  as  also  to 
put  a  visible  difference  between  those  that  belong  unto  the 
church,  and  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  solemnly  to  engage 
them  to  the  service  of  God  in  Christ,  according  to  His  word. 

There  are  but  two^  sacraments  ordained  by  Christ  our  Lord, 
Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  that  His  church  may  be  deliv- 
ered from  that  yoke  of  ceremonies  and  that  burden  of  ritual 
observances,  which  was  found  necessary  in  that  dispensation 
which  was  designed  to  show  forth  the  guilt  of  sin  and  the 
necessity  of  a  Redeemer.  It  is  thus  also  by  the  simplicity  of 
its  external  rites  and  its  unincumbered'  forms  fitted  for  that 
universality  to  which  it  is  destined. 

There  are,  however,  two  typical  ceremonies  admitted  into  the 
service  of  the  christian  Temples,  in  order  to  hold  forth  in  the 
most  striking  and  impressive  manner  the  great  features — the 
vital  and  essential  and  most  important  doctrines  of  this  divine 
and  ever  blessed  Gospel.  The  doctrines  of  Regeneration  by 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  atonement  by  the  death  and  sacrifice  of 
Jesus  Christ  followed  Iby  His  spiritual  indwelling  in  us — ^these 
form  the  epitomes,  the  first  principles  of  Christianity.     These, 


334  ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM. 

therefore,  have  been  extracted  from  the  full  record  of  the 
Gospel,  translated  as  it  were  unto  the  languages  of  symbol  and 
types  and  so  engrafted  in  the  christian  service  that  they  may 
stand  forth  to  view  so  plainly,  forcibly  and  constantly  as  that  a 
wayfaring  man  though  a  fool  may  clearly  perceive  and  fully 
understand  them.  A  symbolical  representation  is  unvariable 
and  universal,  while  language  is  ambiguous,  mutable  and 
limited.  On  the  other  hand  such  outward  and  speaking  modes 
of  representation,  adapted  to  all  minds,  are  more  impressive, 
more  intelligible  and  more  attractive. 

Baptism  is  a  sacrament  of  the  New  Testament,  ordained  by 
Jesus  Christ,  not  only  for  the  solemn  admission  of  the  party 
baptized  into  the  visible  church,  but  also  to  be  unto  Him  a  sign 
and  seal  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  of  His  ingrafting  into'  Christ 
of  regeneration,  of  remission  of  sins,  and  of  his  being  given  up 
unto  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  to  walk  in  newness  of  life,  and 
this  sacrament  is,  by  Christ's  own  appointment,  to  be  continued 
in  His  church  unto  the  end  of  the  world. 

Baptism  is,  therefore,  the  first  sacrament,  the  sacrament  of 
initiation  and  as  it  were  the  threshold  of  grace.  This  sacra- 
ment shews  first  the  necessity  that  regeneration  should  be 
wrought  by  the  power  of  God  on  every  child  of  the  human 
family ;  the  provisions  made  for  its  bestowment  and  that  Divine 
Saviour  who  is  its  author,  and  its  finisher,  the  way,  the  truth 
and  the  life.  It  is,  therefore,  called  the  laver  or  fountain  of 
regeneration  while  the  Lord's  Supper  is  the  sacrament  of 
nutrition  and  of  growth  in  grace. 

Therefore  does  our  church  teach  that  while  the  efficacy  of 
baptism  is  not  tied  to  that  moment  of  time  wherein  it  is  adniin- 
istered ;  yet  notwithstanding,  by  the  right  use  of  this  ordinance 
the  grace  promised  is  not  only  offered  but  really  exhibited  and 
conferred  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  such  whether  of  age  or  infants 
as  that  grace  belongeth  unto,  according  to  the  counsel  of  God's 
own  will  in  His  appointed  time. 

The  ordinance  of  Baptism  is,  therefore,  eminently  a  christian 
ordinance,  deriving  all  its  value,  interest,  and  importance  from 
the  fact  that  Christ  instituted  and  has  commanded  its  perpetual 
observance.  That  Christ  was  the  Redeemer  of  lost  and  ruined 
men  and  the  giver  of  that  Holy  Spirit  which  is  necessary  to 


ARTICLES  ON   BAPTISM.  335 

renew,  sanctify,  and  glorify  the  soul  is  here  manifestly  set 
forth  ;  as  also  the  solemn  fact  that  all  who  in  this  ordinance  are 
sprinkled,  or  otherwise  washed  with  water  are  dedicated  to 
Christ,  offered  to  Him  and  forever  delivered  over  to  be  His  in 
life,  in  death  and  in  eternity,  as  one  of  the  persons  in  that 
Triune  Je'hova^h  who,  while  in  the  substance  and  essence  of  His 
God-head  He  is  one,  is,  in  the  manner  of  His  existence  three, 
the  Father,  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  Baptism  is  thus  the 
covenant  of  the  three  persons  of  the  God-head  for  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins  and  the  bestowment  of  the  divine  spirit. 

Therefore  has  Christ  required  that  in  all  the  world  to  the  end 
of  time  all  should  be  baptized  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  the 
Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Now,  this  form  teaches  us  several  things :  for  while  the  min- 
ister baptizes  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  he  declares  that  the  water  with  which  he  sprinkles  the 
child,  is  the  sign  of  his  admission  into  God's  covenant,  and  into 
the  churc'h.  That  the  Father  receives  him  as  His  child,  the 
Son  as  a  member  of  His  body,  the  Holy  Ghost  as  a  temple  in 
which  He  is  pleased  to  dwell :  and  on  the  part  of  the  baptized, 
it  is  a  sign  of  his  engagement  with  its  Triune  Jehovah,  to  wor- 
ship and  obey  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  and  consecrate 
himself  forever  to^  them. 

On  this  account  the  ancient  Church,  as  TestuUian  informs  us, 
sprinkled  or  dipped  the  child  three  times  in  the  separate  names 
,of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost. 

It  is  the  intention  and  design  of  baptism  to  be  a  devotional 
consecration  to  Christ  as  God;  and  thus  to  manifest  in  connec- 
tion with  God  the  Father  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost  His  hoi}' 
name  and  display  His  glorious  perfections. 

There  is  in  this  ordinance  an  express  and  required  act 
expressive  of  religious  dedication  for  the  attainment  of  a  spe- 
cial benefit.  We  are,  therefore,  said  "to  ibe  baptized  unto 
Christ,"  "unto  the  death  of  Christ"  and  "unto  repentance  and 
the  forgiveness  of  sins"  as  given  and  procured  by  Christ. 
Christ,  therefore,  must  be  capable  of  receiving  the  person  herein 
dedicated.  He  miUst  be  able  to  protect  and  have  a  right  and 
power  to  confer  these  contemplated  blessings.  And  while 
there  is  an  engagement  on  the  part  or  in  the  case  of  infants  on 


336  ARTICLES  ON    BAPTISM. 

behalf  of  the  individual  baptized  that  he  will  believe  upon,  love, 
serve,  and  obey  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  God,  there  is  mani- 
festly implied  the  presence  of  this  divine  Saviour  together  with 
His  acquiescence  in  what  is  done,  and  His  acceptance  of  the 
child,  that  is,  it  is  here  taught  that  Christ  is  omnipresent  and 
omnipotent  and  therefore  God. 

Baptism'  into  the  name  of  the  Son  and  into  the  name  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  cannot  mean  into  the  doctrine  of  the  one  or  into 
the  influence  of  the  other,  but  into  these,  as  equally  and  per- 
sonally subsisting  with  the  Father,  or  as  equally  in  rank  and 
entitled  to  equality  of  homage.  Since  in  the  doctrine  of  Bap- 
tism, as  a  Father  of  a  very  early  age  remarks,  the  one  name  has 
been  unitedly  delivered  to  us  of  the  Father  and  the  Son  and  the 
Holy  Ghost.  What  reasoning  can  set  aside  the  existence  of  the 
Son  and  the  Spirit  in  the  divine  and  blessed  essence  as  the 
object  of  our  worship  and  confession."  Prescription  and  uni- 
versal use;  the  concurrent  doctrine  of  Fathers,  Martyrs  and  of 
the  Church  universal,  with  but  few  exceptions;  the  plain  mean- 
ing and  force  of  the  language  of  the  divine  institution ; — all 
therefore  combine  to  enforce  upon  us  as  an  all-important  verity 
in  the  christian  creed,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not  a  created 
being,  but  as  God  is  aible  and  willing  to  renew,  sanctify  and 
glorify — that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  not  a  created  being  but 
is  God  and  therefore  aible  and  willing  to  save,  defend  and  bless 
us;  and  that  these  both  are  entitled  to  the  same  degree  of  dig- 
nity and  religious  honour  and  upon  the  same  ground  of  certain 
evidence  as  the  Father  and  yet  that  these  three  are  one  God. 

To  this  truly  wise,  only  tnie,  only  living  God,  it  is  your  duty 
and  privilege,  christian  parents,  to  dedicate  this  child,  looking 
to  God  the  Father  for  His  pitiful  compassion  and  divine  clem- 
ency : — to  God  the  Son  for  His  grace  and  mercy : — ^to  God  the 
Spirit  for  His  presence,  influence  and  blessing;  training  him  up 
in  their  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lordi — teaching  him  the 
relation  in  which  he  stands  to  each  of  thiese  glorious  Persons  as 
a  sinner  and  as  exposed  to  everlasting  death ; — and  leading  him 
by  a  pious  and  holy  example  and  influence  early  to  remember, 
love,  serve  and  obey  his  God  as  his  God  for  ever  and  ever. 

The  minister  will  then  implore  the  Divine  presence  and  bless- 
ing, after  which  he  will  proceed  to  baptize  the  child: 


ARTICLES  OX   I'.APTISM.  337 

Child  of  the  covenant,  (or  calHng  the  name  of  the  child),  I 
baptize  thee  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost. 

NOTES. 

1.  "In  the  name  of  the  Father,  etc.,  which  order  hath  been  perpetuated 
in  all  Confessions  of  Faith  and  is  forever  inviolably  to  be  observed." 

See   Pearson  on  the  Creed,  p.  55,  and  note. 

2.  According,  therefore,  to  the  Son's  prescription,  the  Father's  injunction, 
.nnd  the  Sacramental  institution,  as  we  are  baptized,  so  do  we  believe  in 
the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     Do.,  p.  104. 


22— Vol.  X. 


ARTICLE  II. 

Infant    Baptism    Proved    From    the    Identity    of    the 
Christian  and  Jewish  Churches. 

Rom.  11 :  24. 

For  if  thou  were  cut  out  of  the  olive  tree  which  is  wild  by  nature,  and 
were  grafted  contrary  to  nature,  into  a  good  olive  tree  ;  how  much  more 
shall  these,  which  be  the  natural  branches,  be  grafted  into  their  own  olive 
tree  ? 

One  great  and  powerful  objection  to  the  truth  of  the  gospel 
in  the  apostle's  days,  was  the  rejection  of  its  claims  by  the 
Jewisli  nation.  For  this  rejectioni,  therefore,  the  apostle 
accounts.  Fle  traces  it  to  that  pride,  carnality  and  self-right- 
eous spirit  which  led  them  to  oppose  its  humble,  pure,  and 
gracious  character.  He  proves,  further,  that  this  rejection  of 
the  Jews  was  agreeable  to  the  predictions  of  the  prophets  by 
whom  it  had  been  foretold,  and  that  however  melancholy  in 
itself  considered — it  was  an  undeniable  evidence  that  the  gospel 
derived  its  origin  from  Him  who  maketh  all  things  in  heaven 
and  on  earth  to  work  together  for  the  accomplishment  of  His 
purposes.  The  apostle  further  remarks  in  order  to  make  mani- 
fest the  goodness  as  well  as  the  severity  of  God  and  thus  to 
irradiate  the  darkness  of  this  dispensation  with  some  brighten- 
ing beams  of  mercy — that  this  rejection  of  the  Jews  was  not 
total — that  on  the  contrar)-  there  was  a  remnant  and  that  much 
longer  than  might  be  at  first  apparent  it  was  foreordained  wdio 
should  be  made  partakers  of  the  blessings  of  salvation. 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  apostle  establishes  the  position  that 
as  this  rejection  of  the  Jewish  nation  was  not  total,  so,  neither 
w^as  it  final — but  that  on  the  contrary  their  restoration  to  the 
privileges  of  the  Church  of  Christ  was  an  eveni:  in  itself  alto- 
gether desirable  and  one  which  God  had  full}'  determined  in 
His  own  good  time  to  bring  to  pass.  They  are  fallen  but  not 
so  as  to  be  utterly  prostrated,  cast  down  but  not  destroyed— 
for  a  time  separated  from  their  ancient  privilege  and  glory  as 
the  peculiar  and  chosen  inheritance  of  God,  but  again  to  be 
restored  to  this  perfected  inheritance. 

Now,  inasmuch  as  this  rejection  of  the  Jews  was  a  punish- 
ment inflicted  on  them  for  their  unbelief  and  was  not  the 
expression  of  God's  ultimate  purpose   respecting  them,  their 


ARTICLES  ON   BAPTISM.  339 

rejection  from  church  privileges  is  made  an  argument  whereby 
the  Gentile  church  is  admonished  to  be  'humble  and  watchful. 

In  order  to  convey  His  instructions  the  more  clearly,  the 
apostle  adopts  a  very  striking  and  beautiful  illustration,  in 
which  the  Church  of  God  is  compared  to  an  olive  tree — the 
Jewish  church  to  its  natural  branches — and  the  Gentile  church 
to  the  branches  of  a  wild  olive  tree  grafted  into  the  original 
stock  from  which  the  natural  branches  because  of  their  unf ruit- 
fulness  had  been  broken  off.  Thus  does  he  depict  the  church 
as  a  wide- spread,  an  un decaying  and  perennial  tree  firmly  rooted 
in  the  divine  purposes ;  sustained  by  the  divine  promises  ;  grow- 
ing up  under  the  divine  protection  and  blessing;  watered  by  the 
river  of  life  which  flows  forth  from  the  unfailing  fountain  of 
God's  Sovereign  mercy ; — whose  leaves  shall  never  fade,  and 
which  no  rude  blasts  shall  ever  be  able  to  uproot. 

Of  all  the  fruits  which  grow  luxuriantly  upon  this  tree  of  life 
whose  very  leaves  are  for  the  healing  of  the  nations — the  Jews 
were  early  made  the  favoured  partakers,  in  exclusion  of  those 
who  had  abused  and  thus  forfeited  their  enjoyment.  The  Jews 
in  their  turn  having  became  helplessly  corrupt  were  cut  off 
from  their  long  possessed  advantages  over  their  Gentile  breth- 
ren; and  these  long  forsaken  Gentiles  are,  in  the  mercy  of  God, 
introduced  into  their  former  blessings. 

That  the  beauty,  propriety  and  force  of  this  illustration  may 
be  more  perfectly  comprehended  I  may  be  permitted  briefly  to 
illustrate  the  passage. 

Palestine  was  the  very  garden  of  olives,  some  of  which,  you 
will  remember,  covered  the  summits  of  that  hill  which  looks 
down  upon  Jerusalem  and  which  was  hence  termed  Mount 
Olivet.  There  are  found  at  this  moment  trees  which  sprouted 
from  those  very  olives  under  whose  spreading  branches  the 
blessed  Saviour  meditated  1800  years  ago. 

There  are  different  kinds  of  olives — some  wild  and  natural, 
others  under  care  and  culture.  This  tree  is  a  favorite  illustra- 
tion in  the  Scriptures  of  the  character  of  the  believer  not  so 
much  for  any  remarkable  beauty  in  its  foliage  or  shape,  as  for 
the  value  attaohed  to  its  fruit  and  the  healing  efficacy  of  its  oil, 
in  mitigating  pain.  From  the  period  of  the  deluge,  when  the 
branches  of  olive  brought  back  by  the  wearied  dove  to  the 


340  ARTICLES  ON    BAPTISM. 

more  wearied  tenants  of  the  lonely  ark,  revived  the  sinking^ 
hope  of  earth's  future  ancestors,  the  olive  or  some  green  branch 
has  in  all  portions  of  the  world  been  made  the  emblem  and 
pledge  of  peace,  as  it  shadows  forth  the  goodness  and  placa- 
bility of  God  through  Him  who  came  to  deliver  our  ruined  race 
from  the  deluge  of  the  wrath  of  God.  Such,  theni,  is  the  figure 
by  which  the  apostle  here  represents  the  Church  of  God^ — 'it  is 
a  good  olive  tree." 

This  leads  me  further  to  remark,  as  already  stated,  that  there 
are  wild  and  unfruitful  olives  which  are  valueless,  and  good 
or  fruit-bearing  trees  which  are  most  highly  esteemed.  Nov\% 
by  the  science  of  grafting,  man  has  discovered  a  way  by  which 
the  graft  of  an  unfruitful  tree  may  become  fruitful  by  being 
united  to  one  which  is  fruitful,  and  an  umfruitful  tree  made 
fruit-bearing  by  engrafting  upon  it  the  branch  of  a  fruitful 
tree.  Thus  it  is  that  olives  which  bear  no  fruit  are  yet  in  some 
places  cultivated  for  the  express  purpose  of  sustaining  fruit- 
bearing  grafts  (see  John's  Arch.,  Sect.  71).  The  graft,  being 
insertedi  in  a  slit  made  in  the  tree  and  carefully  bound  round 
with  clay,  becomes  perfectly  united  to  the  parent  stock  from 
which  it  derives  its  nutriment  while  it  retains  its  fruitfulness. 
This  practice  being  the  discovery  of  man's  artful  ingenuity,  and 
not  the  result  of  nature's  own  working,  though  accomplished 
by  the  help  of  nature's  laws,  is  here  said  tO'  be  "contrary  to 
nature."  These  words  are  meant  to  hold  forth  the  great- 
ness of  God's  mercy  to  the  Gentiles,  who  were  like  an  unfi'uit- 
ful  branch  grafted  into  a  fruitful  stock,  which  is  not  the  usual 
or  customary  practice,  but  "contrary  to  nature."  The  Gentiles 
are  thus  inheritors  of  all  the  privileges  of  the  Church  of  God. 

You  will  now,  I  trust,  be  able  perfectly  to  understand  the 
argument  of  the  apostle. 

Quote  V.  23,  24 : 

"For,  if,"  says  the  apostle,  that  we  may  paraphrase  the  2  ith 
verse,  "if  thou  wert,  as  I  may  properly  enough  express  it,  cut 
off  from  an  olive  tree  which  was  by  nature  wild  and  worthless, 
and  if  thou  wert,  contrary  to  the  course  of  nature  and  to  the 
custom  of  men;  grafted  on  the  good'  olive  tree,  which  is  the 
Church  of  the  living  God,  and  if  thou  wert  thus  admitted 
into  covenant  with  God,  though  descended  from  parents  that 


ARTICLES  ON  DAPTISM.  341 

were  strangers  and  enemies,  how  much  more  shall  they,  who 
are  the  natural  branches  to  whom  and  to  whom  alone  this  cove- 
nant and  these  promises  do  originally  belong,  be  grafted  again 
into  their  own  olive  tree  from  which  they  have  been  for  a  sea- 
son separated? 

When  a  writer  in  arguing  upon  any  point  takes  for  granted 
some  other  matter  not  necessary  to  the  point  in  hand,  but  which 
he  supposes  will  be  mutually  allowed  hy  both  parties — it  is 
always  regarded  as  a  more  satisfactory  proof  of  the  unquestion- 
able truth  of  that  fact  or  opinion  whatever  it  be^ — than  even  a 
distinct  and  laboured  proof  of  it.  For  in  these  circumstances 
we  can  imagine  no  possible  reason  why  the  writer  should  intro- 
duce for  the  sake  of  illustration  what  was  in  itself  a  matter  of 
dispute  or  doubt.  Such  incidental  allusions  tO'  received  opin- 
ions or  existing  customs  is,  therefore,  the  most  conclusive  proof 
that  could  be  given,  not  that  such  oipinions  are  correct  or  such 
customs  wise,  but  of  the  fact  that  they  were  at  the  time  believed 
opinions  and  received  customs — that  could  possibly  be  given. 

When,  therefore,  we  find  the  apostle  in  his  argument  with  the 
Gentile  converts  and  as  a  nifotive  by  which  he  would  urge  them 
to  the  maintenance  of  watchfulness  and  humility  in  view  of  the 
obstinate  unbelief  of  the  Jews  ;  when  we  find  him,  I  say,  assum- 
ing as  an  incontrovertible  and  an  uncontroverted  fact,  the  per- 
petuity of  the  ancient  church  and  the  identity  of  that  church 
with  the  Church  of  Christ — the  Jewish  and  the  christian 
churches  being  both  grafted  into  the  same  tree — we  have 
indubitable  assurance  given  us  of  the  fact  of  that  identity,  an;d 
since  the  apostle  wrote  "as  he  was  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost," 
we  are  equally  certified  of  the  truth  of  this  asserted  identity. 
There  is,  therefore,  there  has  ever  been,  there  ever  will  be — but 
one  Church  of  the  Living  God,  of  which  all  true  and  particular 
chuiches  are  branches. 

Now  this,  brethren,  is  the  important  truth  which  it  is  my  pur- 
pose at  this  time  to  gather  up  from  those  many  truths  which 
fall  in  such  rich  profusion  as  it  is  shaken  iby  the  knowing  hands 
of  this  divine  apostle — from  this  goodly  tree  of  fife. 

The  Church  of  God  like  the  moon,  to  which  she  may  well  be 
resembled,  since  both  derive  their  lustre  from  a  central  Sun  of 
glor}' — amid  all  her  different  phases,  changes  and  vicissitudes 


342  ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM. 

and  however  she  may  seem  to  vanish,  become  obscured  or 
essentially  alter  her  nature — is  still  one  and  the  same,  inde- 
structible and  identical.  God  may  conduct  her  through  various 
dispensations ;  but  amid  them,  she  is  still  the  one  object  of  His 
loving  kindness  and  tender  mercy — still  within  the  covenant  of 
life;  still  under  the  encircling  bow  of  promise; — still  fed  by  the 
bread  of  heaven  and  watered  by  the  dews  of  heavenly  grace. 

If,  therefore,  we  are  fully  established  in  this  truth,  the  doc- 
trine of  the  right  to  a  membership  in  the  Church  of  God  now — 
as  under  all  previous  dispensations — ^of  the  infant  seed  of  God's 
people  follows  as  an  immediate  and  a  necessary  consequence — 
unless,  indeed,  it  can  be  shown  by  some  express  declaration  of 
the  Law-giver  that  such  a  privilege  has  been  po'sitively  with- 
drawn. 

Allow  me,  therefore,  tO'  present  this  point  a  little  more  fully 
before  your  mindi. 

I  assert  the  identity  of  the  christian  and  the  ancient  church  as 
the  same,  perpetual  and  inidestruictible  Church  of  God.  But 
v^hen  I  assert  their  identity  I  do  not  deny  their  distinctness  and 
difference  as  Antedeluvian,  Post-deluvian,  Patriarchal,  Jewish 
and  christian.  Identity  only  implies  samieness  in  that  which  is 
substantially  essential  while  there  may  be  endless  diversity  of 
state.  Water  is  water  whether  in  the  form  of  vapour,  rain, 
steam,  or  fluid.  Man  is  man  amid  all  that  succession  of  endless 
changes  through  which  he  is  ceaselessly  passing,  both  as  it 
regards  the  matter  of  the  body  and  the  state  of  the  mind,  and  in 
this  identity  we  are  compelled  to  believe  by  universal,  immedi- 
ate and  irresistible  law.  And  it  is  equally  true  of  all  things 
around  us  that  they  may  remain  the  same  in  their  own  abso- 
lute nature  while  existing  in  states  the  most  opposite  and  infi- 
nitely various.  In  assuming,  therefore,  the  perpetual  identity' 
of  the  Church  of  God  there  is  no  forgetfulness  of  those  various 
dispensations,  laws  and  regulations  throiigh  which  it  has  pleased 
God  to  bring  her  in  her  onward  march  to  immortality.  As  the 
Ark  of  divine  mercy  she  is  still  the  same  over  whatever  seas 
s.he  may  pass,  by  whatever  winds  she  may  be  tossed,  or  in 
whatever  port  she  may  ride  on  peaceful  anchorage.  She  is  still 
the  Church  of  the  living  God^ — ^the  pillar  and  ground  of  the 
truth — the  Oracle  of  God — ^^the  throne  of  grace^ — the  birthplace 


ARTlCIvES  ON  BAPTISM.  343 

of  souls — the  celestial  ladder — ^the  token  of  God's  covenant — 
the  dwelling  place  of  the  Most  High  God. 
Now,  of  this  identity  the  apostle  assures  us: 

I.  The  Jews  are  not  here  alluded  to  as  individuals,  but  are 
spoken  of  in  their  collective  capacity,  as  a  body,  the  nation  and 
people  of  'Tsrael."  They  are  thus  contrasted  with  the  Gentiles 
in  their  collective  unity,  who'  while  these  are  as  "the  Gentiles" 
represented  as  now  occupying  the  position  previously  filled  by 
Israel.  To  them  it  is  now  given  to  dwell  in  God's  house — to 
enter  His  Courts — to  enjoy  His  promises — tO'  preserve  His 
oracles — and  to  hold  forth  His  covenant.  In  the  rejection  of 
the  Jews — and  their  exclusion  from  the  vineyard  we  ibe'hold 
the  severity  of  God  toward  them  who  have  thus  fallen — and  in 
the  admission  of  these  we  be'hold  God's  goodnes6  and  mercy 
towards  them.  As  the  Jews,  therefore,  were  God's  "people" 
"of  the  seed  of  Abraham,"  so  are  the  Gentiles  "blessed  in 
Him."  The  christian  church,  therefore,  inherits  the  cove- 
nants— the  promises — and  all  the  blessings  of  the  ancient 
church. 

II.  But  it  might  be  said  that  the  ancient  church  had  now 
ser\^ed  its  purpose  and  had  become  extinct  and  that  another 
church  was  formed  out  of  the  Gentiles.  This  idea  is  plainly 
contradictory  to  the  mind  of  the  apostle.  The  rejection  of  the 
Jews  is  represented  not  as  a  necessary  result  of  the  dissolution 
of  the  Church  of  God — but  as  a  cutting  off  from  that  church — 
a  punishment  inflicted  on  them  for  their  "unbelief" — "a  casting 
them  away" — "a  breaking  them  off  because  of  unbelief,"  from 
that  church  into  w'hich  "God  is  able"  to  restore  them — and  as  a 
temporary  separation  "until  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles  be 
come  in."  The  establishment  of  the  Gentile  church  was  not, 
therefore  the  occasion  of  the  fall  of  the  Jews,  but  their  fall  was 
contrariwise  the  very  occasion  oi  the  establishment  of  the 
Gentile  church — "as  conceming  the  Gospel  they  are  enemies 
for  your  sakes."  But  had  Israel  received  the  Saviour  and 
embraced  His  Goispel  then:  would"  they  have  retained  their 
standing  in  the  Church  of  God,  while  the  Gentiles  would  have 
beeru  incorporated  with  them,  and  the  middle  wall  of  partition 
being  broken  down — there  would  have  been  but  one  temple — 
one  court — and  one  worship. 


344  ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM. 

III.  That  the  Church  of  God  was  not  changed  or  destroyed, 
by  the  change  of  dispensation  whereby  it  became  christian 
instead  of  Jewish  in  its  poHty  and  order  and  worship,  is  most 
manifest  from  the  fact  that  the  Jews  are  to  be  again  restored 
to  that  very  church  from  which  they  were  cast  away  and  of 
which  the  Gentiles  were  made  the  privileged  possessors. 
"These  natural  branches"  shall  be  "grafted  in  again" — ''shall 
be  grafted  into  their  own  olive  tree"  from,  which  "some — (not 
all)  the  branches  were  broken  off"  that  the  "wild  olive  tree 
might  be  grafted  in  among  them  and  with  them  partake  of  the 
root  and  fatness  of  THE  OLIVE  TREE."  That  tree,  there- 
fore, remains,  for  into  it  the  Gentiles  are  grafted'.  That  tree 
remains,  for  to  it  the  Jews  are  to  be  again  restored.  The  chris- 
tian church  is,  therefore,  identical  with  the  ancient  church — by 
virtue  of  whose  covenant  and  promises,  in  their  accomplished 
blessings,  it  lives. 

IV.  The  same  truth  is  established  by  the  declaration  of  the 
apostle  in  the  16th  verse.  "For  if  the  first  fruit  be  holy  the 
lump  is  also  holy,  and  if  the  root  be  holy  so  are  the  branches." 
What  is  here  termed  "the  lump"  and  "the  branches"  means  the 
descendants  of  Abraham — ^to  whom  God  gave  in  pei-petuity  the 
covenant — promise — and  blessing — which  He  first  granted  to 
Abraham.  And  since  "the  gifts  and  calling  of  God  are  without 
repentance"  the  apostle  argues  that  however  for  a  season  they 
may  be  cast  away  "the  reconciling  of  them  shall  be  as  life  from 
the  dead"  to  the  christian  church. 

V.  Equally  strong  in  proof  of  this  identity  of  the  christian 
and  the  ancient  church  is  the  declaration  of  John  the  Baptist, 
recorded  in  Math.  3  :9.  The  Jews  thought  that  in  consequence 
of  their  relation  to  Abraham  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  lose 
the  favour  of  God,  or  be  cast  away  from  their  boasted  privi- 
leges. But,  says  this  divine  prophet,  "Think  not  to  say  within 
yourselves  we  have  Abraham  for  our  father,"  relying  on  your 
descent  from  that  holy  patriarch  and  your  being  that  seed  of 
his  with  whom  a  peculiar  and  an  everlasting  covenant  was 
made,  "for  since  God  is  able  of  these"  Gentiles  whom  you 
regard  as  "stones,"  by  His  sanctifying  grace.  "tO'  raise  up"  those 
who  shall  be  adopted  into  His  family,  made   heirs  of  the  prom- 


ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM.  345 

ises,  and  partakers  of  the  Covenant,  and  thus  "children  of 
Abraham." 

These  arguments  are  sufficient — ^thougih  they  might  be  end- 
lessly mukipliedi — to  demonstrate  the  identity  of  the  christian 
and  the  ancient  church  as  equally  tlie  Church  of  God.  "Boast 
not  thyself,"  says  the  apostle,  "against  the  branches — thou 
bearest  not  the  root" — the  Abrahamic  covenant — "but  the 
root"  this  covenant  "bears  thee."  The  very  existence,  there- 
fore, and  much  more,  every  privilege  and  blessing  of  the  Gen- 
tile church  depends  on  the  fulfillmenit  towards  them  oi  God's 
promises  of  mercy  in  the  ancient  covenant.  The  ancient  church 
is  the  root  of  the  christian  church. 

Now,  I  have  already  on  former  occasions  presented  to 
your  niinids  the  proof  of  the  identity  of  the  Abrahamic  and  the 
christian  covenant — and  of  circumcision  which  was  the  seal  of 
that  covenant  with  baptism,  which  is  the  seal  of  the  christian 
covenant.  Since,  therefore,  that  covenant  embraced  in  its  mer- 
ciful provisions  the  infant  offspring  of  Abraham,  who  were 
constituted  members  of  the  church  visible  and  heirs  of  the 
church  triumphant — and  since  circumcision  was  a  seal  of  the 
righteousness  which  by  faith  was  the  appointed  ordinance  by 
which  children  were  initiated  into  these  heavenly  privileges — it 
follows  as  a  most  plain  and  necessary  consequence  that  baptism, 
which  has  displaced  circumcision  in  accordance  with  the  milder 
and  more  equal  spirit  of  the  christian  dispensation,  of  right 
belongs  to  the  children  of  such  as  are  of  the  seed  of  Abraham 
and  upon  whom  the  blessing  of  faithful  Abraham  has  come. 

This  conclusion  is  powerfully  enforced  by  the  reasoning  of 
the  apostle. 

His  argument  is  about  church  membership  and  church  privi- 
leges, and  it  is  his  purpose  to  shew  why  these  were  taken  away 
from  the  Jews  and  transferred  to  the  Gentiles.  Now,  he  applies 
to  both  the  same  general  terms  (as  Gentiles,  nations,  world. 
Israel),  which  necessarily  include  children  as  well  as  adults. 

In  connexion  with  this  he  places  in  contrast  with  each,  other 
the  excluded  Jews  and  the  newly  introduced  Gentiles — the  latter 
being  put  into  complete  possession  of  all  the  privileges  and 
blessings  enjoyed  by  the  former,  as  far  as  they  were  compatible 
with  the  genius  of  the  christian  dispensation.     Now,  the  church 


346  ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM. 

membersliip  of  infants  was  one  of  the  most  marked  and  boasted 
privileges  of  the  ancient  church — and  it  seems  to  be  demanded 
by  and  is  not  consistent  merely  with  the  spirit  of  Christianity, 
and  must,  therefore,  be  included  in  its  gifts  and  calling. 

This  would  appear  to  be  the  inevitable  inference  from  the 
apostle's  illustration  which  would  otherwise  teach  the  very 
opposite  of  what  the  apostle  designed  and  be  most  perfectly 
absurd. 

What  was  the  pre-existing  character  and  state  the  visible  con- 
dition of  these  two  nations  or  people  ?  The  one.  in  their  public 
relation  to  God  were  "the  branches  of"  "a  good  olive  tree,""  the 
visible  Church  of  God  "organized  under  the  covenant  with 
Abraham."  The  other  stood  to  God  in  the  contrasted  relation 
of  "a  wild  olive  tree,"  who  were  strangers  to  this  covenant  of 
promise,  and  "aliens  from  this  Commonwealth  of  Israel."  Such 
was  their  previous  condition. 

What  was  their  condition  as  represented  by  the  apostle? 
Except  that  the  change  as  it  regards  the  Jews  was  partial  and 
not  entire — and  temporary^  and  not  perpetual — their  position 
was  exactly  reversed.  The  church  remained  unchanged  though 
altered — identically  the  same,  "the  good  olive  tree."  This  tree 
remains  living  and  in  full  vigour,  for  the  Gentile  church  is 
represented  as  "partaking  of  the  root  and  fatness  of  the 
OLIVE  TREE."  The  root  was  good — the  trunk  also  was  good — 
the  sap,  the  life,  was  still  in  vigorous  circulation  through  that 
trunk — "the  good  olive  tree" — not  identically  the  same  under 
whose  heavenly  shadow  Abraham  "rested  in  peace"  of  whose 
fruit  he  ate  to  the  saving  of  his  soul — and  on  whose  green 
spreading  bough,  he  delighted  to  look  in  heartfelt  admiration 
as  he  directed  the  eyes  of  his  faith  forward  through  the  vista 
of  coming  centuries,  where  its  leaves  would  be  for  the  healing 
"of  ALL  nations" — that  tree  still  flourished  in  the  region  of 
immortal  youth.  By  the  inheritance  of  its  covenant — in  its 
promises — in  its  privileges — the  Church  of  God  remained  the 
same  with  the  only  difference  that  these  were  now  all  fulfilled 
and  perfected. 

WTiat,  then,  Avas  now  the  condition  of  the  Jews,  "the  natural 
branches  of  this  good  olive  tree?"  They  were  now,  many  of 
them,  broken  ofif  because  of  unbelief.    And  what  was  the  con- 


ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM.  347 

dition  of  the  Gentiles,  the  wild  branches  of  the  wild  olive  tree  ? 
They  were  grafted  into  the  good  olive  tree"' — nay,  into  the  very 
place  of  these  "cast  away"  natural  branches,  for  "the  branches 
were  broken  off  that  these  might  be  grafted  in?" 

The  Church  of  God  remains  unchanged  and  identical — but 
from  that  church  the  Jews  are  excommunicated  and  into  that 
church  the  Gentiles  were  admitted — "well,  because  of  unbelief 
they  were  broken  off  and  thus  standest." 

To  what  are  the  Gentiles  admitted?  To  the  Church  of  God 
— ^to  its  covenant — to  its  promises — to  its  privileges.  In  these 
they  "stand."  They  "bear  not  the  root"  as  if  they  had  sprung 
up  as  a  new  and  dififerent  church,  "but  the  root  beareth  thee," 
who  art  only  grafted  into  it.  But  the  membership  of  infants 
was  secured  by  this  covenant — was  pledged  by  these  promises — 
was  one  of  these  privileges — and  flowed  out  necessarily  from 
this  goodly  root,  and  of  necessity  it  must  still  flow  into  the 
branches  that  have  been  grafted  in  as  it  had  done  into  the  natu- 
ral branches.     There  is  no  evading  this  conclusion. 

But  again  some  of  the  natural  branches  remained  upon  the 
good  olive  tree  as  converts  of  the  apostle  himself.  Of  course, 
the  root  still  sent  forth  to  these  their  natural  and  accustomed 
nutriment.  They  drank  still  at  the  same  sustaining  fountain  of 
life.  And  was  it  ever  heard  that  any  converted  Jew,  amid  all 
the  discussions  of  the  apostolic  times,  complained  of  being 
deprived  of  this  proud  and  boasted  privilege?  Did  they  con- 
tend for  the  mere  outward  rite  and  long  continue  to  observe  it 
— and  would  they  have  uttered  not  a  sentence  when  that  which 
the  rite  itself  signified  and  taught  was  abrogated?  Who  can 
believe  such  a  palpable  absurdity  ?  No,  this  privilege  remained 
and  these  natural  branches  continued  to  enjoy  it. 

But,  once  more,  the  cast  away  branches  are  to  be  "agaix 
grafted  in."  So  says  God  and  His  inspired  apostle — into 
what?  into  another  tree — into  a  new  church?  No — but  into 
'their  own  olive  tree."  The  church  remains  the  same  and 
will  remain  the  same  to  the  end  of  time,  and  when  the  Jews  are 
converted  and  brought  into  the  Church  of  Christ  they  will  be 
again  grafted  into  their  own  olive  tree,  of  which  it  was  a  most 
esteemed  and  blessed  fruit  that  it  imparted  membership  to  their 
infant  seed.     Right  to  that  membership  must  remain,  says  the 


348  ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM. 

apostle,  unless  "the  truth  of  God  is  a  lie,  which  God  forbid." 
"Let  God  be  true,"  whosoeA'er  are  thereby  proved  to  be 
deceivers. 

This  privilege,  christians,  is  ours.  No  man  taketh  it  from  us. 
And  I  challenge  them  who  impugn  our  claim  and  who  desecrate 
it  by  their  profane  ridicule  to  produce  that  passage  im  the  Old 
Testament  where  tlnis  privilege  which  was  not  a  part  of  the 
Jewish  dispensation,  but  wihich  "was  before  Moses,  before  Abra- 
ham, more  ancient  than  the  flood,  coeval  with  the  first  family  of 
man" — where  God  has  now  anmulledi  and  revoked  it — or  other- 
wise give  answer  for  their  rejection  before  His  tribunal  who 
will  require  answer  at  their  hands. 

And,  brethren,  this  is  not  a  charge  of  small  import — ibut  an 
issue  of  dread  and  fearful  consequence — over  which  we  have 
allowed  these  brethren  too  long  to  slumber  in  indifference. 

Dr.  Mason's  Wks.,  Vol.  4,  p.  44-46  and  118-120. 
Williams  on  Baptism,  Vol.  1,  p.  357-362. 


ARTICLE  in. 

The  Law  of  Infant  Membership  in  the  Church  of  God, 
Not  Abrogated  by  the  Gospel. 

1  Cor.  7:14. 

For  the  unbelieving  husband  is  sanctified  by  the  wife,  and  the  unbelieving 
wife  is  sanctified  by  the  husband  ;  else  were  your  children  unclean,  but  nozv 
they  are  holy. 

It  is  our  desire,  christian  brethren,  again  to  address  you  on 
the  subject  of  imfamt  baptism  in  connexion  with  the  administra- 
tion; of  this  heaven  appointed  ordinance.  The  ordinance  itself, 
apart  from  its  present  outward  sigm,  as  you  all  know,  was  origi- 
nated iby  the  express  appointment  of  God  not  as  a  part  of  the 
ceremonial  dispensation  and  with  it  to  perish  and  decay,  but 
hundreds  of  years  previous  to  that  dispensation,  and  therefore 
not  necessarily  in  any  way  affected  by  its  removal.  All  contro- 
versy, therefore,  on  the  reasonableness  and  propriety  of  such 
an  institution  must  be  settled  between  those  who  presumptu- 
ously deny  such  propriety  and  that  wise  God  who  has  affirmed 
it  by  his  own  positive  ordinance,  which  He  has  positively  sus- 
tained for  thousands  of  years  in  succession.  We  have,  I  trust, 
satisfactorily  proven  that  the  same  covenant  of  grace  which 
was  entered  into  with  the  elect  of  fallen  man  by  the  promised 
Redeemer,  and  which  was  renewed  with  Abraham^ — is  the  same 
covenant  under  which  we  enjoy  all  the  blessings  of  the  gospel 
dispensation- — ^that  which  was  given  in  promise  being  now 
enjoyed  in  its  complete  fulfillment.  And  since  this  institution 
of  infant  dedication  by  a  positive  form  or  ceremony  was 
expressly  connected  with  that  covenant  and  associated  with  it 
until  it  received  its  completion  in  Christ — the  covenant  itself 
remaining  in  force,  some  seal  of  it  must  also  necessarily  remain. 
But  as  our  Lord  altered  the  form  of  its  application  in  accord- 
ance with  the  genius  of  the  gospel  dispensation — while  He  did 
not  abrogate  the  institution  itself — that  institution  must  of 
necessity  abide  under  the  form  of  baptism  instead  of  the  ancient 
form  of  circumcision. 

This  reasoning  is  strengthened  by  the  fact  which  has  been 
also  indisputably  established  that  the  Church  of  God  now  is 
identically,  though  not  in  every  respect,  the  same  as  the  Church 


350  ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM. 

of  God  in  all  past  time.  And  therefore  since  in  all  ages  of  it 
children  have  been  admitted  to  its  privileges  by  covenant  dedi- 
cation, this  privilege  must  still  be  theirs  unless  it  can  be  shown 
that  it  has  been  plainly  and  positively  withdrawn. 

But  so  far  is  there  from  being  any  such  abrogation  in  the 
word  of  God  it  is  our  purpose  on  this  occasion  to  sbow  that  the 
relation  of  children  to  this  church — ^or  in  other  w^ords,  the  law 
of  infant  membership — has  not  been  abrogated  by  the  gospel. 
For  this  purpose  I  will  invite  your  attention  to  the  considera- 
tion of  one  passage  out  of  many  which  we  believe  is  sufficient 
of  itself  to  satisfy  all  impartial  mimdsr.  It  is  contained  in  1 
Cor.  7  :14. 

Now,  in  order  to  understand  this  declaration,  it  wull  be  neces- 
sary to  determine  first  the  question  upon  which  the  apostle  here 
gives  'his  decision  and  secondly  the  decision  itself. 

This  epistle  was  wTitten  to  the  Corinthians  in  consequence  of 
certain  important  practical  questions  upon  which  they  desired 
the  apostle's  judgment.  Now,  one  of  these  questions  was  this, 
"Is  a  converted  iheathen,  being  the  husband  or  the  wife  of  a 
person  who  is  still  an  avowed  idolater,  required  by  the  laws  and 
institutions  of  the  gospel  to  separate  from  that  heathen  part- 
ner?" In  other  words,  "Is  it  sinful  for  such  an  individual  to 
remain  in  such  a  connexion  and  ought  those  who  were  deter- 
mined to  continue  in  such  a  matrimonial  union,  to  be  debarred 
from  the  privileges  of  the  Church  of  Christ?" 

That  this  was  the  question  submitted  to  the  apostle  will  be 
manifest  from  these  considerationis.  It  was  not  a  question 
about  the  way  in  which  christians  should  be  married  on  which 
the  apostle  w^as  requested  to  decide.  Marriage,  although 
ordained  by  God,  is  not  an  institution  of  religion,  but  of  nature, 
and  left,  therefore,  by  Scripture  to  the  arrangements  of  civil 
society,  the  Scriptures  only  laying  down^  as  a  rule  for  christians 
that  they  should  marry  "in  the  Lord."  But  no  where  does  it 
prescribe  any  form  or  define  the  minister  of  marriage ;  so  that 
marriage  is  everywhere  valid,  it  being  otherwise  proper  when 
entered  into  according  to  the  laws  of  the  land.  Where  those 
laws  permit  it — it  is  assuredly  proper  and  most  becoming  that 
the  ministers  of  religion  should  officiate  and  thus  throw 
around  an  event  of  such  importance  all  the  due  solemnity ;  but 


ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM.  351 

were  this  not  permitted  by  the  laws  them  would  not  a  union  by 
their  ministry,  however  in  itself  proper,  be  held  valid  in  law — 
nor  do  the  Scriptures  any  where  authorize  or  require  christians 
to  oppose  in  this  matter  the  constitution  and  prescriptions  of 
that  state  in  which  they  live.  The  apostle,  therefore,  was  not 
consulted  as  to  the  proper  mode  in  which  marriage  might  be 
contracted,  but  as  to  the  necessity  in  certain  cases  of  dissolving 
that  rektiom  where  already  formed.  He  evidently  assumes  the 
legality  of  the  marriage  in  question  and  the  legitimacy  of  its 
issue,  the  children,  being  as  he  plainly  takes  for  a  thing 
undoubted  holy  and  not  unclean,  words  which  whatever  more 
they  teach  must  necessarily  imply  this  much  on  the  very  lowest 
possible  interpretation.  The  persons  here  spoken  of  were 
already  married  and  had  famihes  around  them  and  one  of  the 
parents  was  already  an  admitted  memiber  of  the  church — for 
the  apostle  speaks  of  ''a  brother  or  sister"  (see  v.  12  and  v.  15), 
as  contrast  with  unlbelievers  (v.  14),  and  the  inquiry  was  rela- 
tive to  the  continuance  in  such  a  relationship  under  these  cir- 
cumstances.* 

In  those  countries  and  in  the  times  of  the  apostles  the  laws 
both  of  the  Jews  as  they  were  interpreted  by  the  Jewish  Rabbis  ; 
and  of  other  nations  also  gave  to  the  husband  and  the  wife  the 
power  of  divorcing  each  other  on  the  very  slightest  grounds. 
It  is  plain  from  Josephus  that  this  was  done  among  the  Jews, 
for  he  was  divorced  by  his  own  wife  and  the  shameful  extent  to 
which  this  practice  was  carried  among  the  Romans  is  known  to 
all  the  readers  of  the  Satires  of  Juvenal.f  Such  being  the  state 
of  things  it  became  a  question  at  Corinth  whether  in  the  case 
submitted,  the  church  should  require  the  exercise  of  this  power 
and  the  formal  separation  of  the  unbelieving  partner  from  the 
professing  christian. 

It  is  thus  manifest  that  the  question  was  altogether  a  reli- 
gious one  and  had  reference  to  religious  ends.  It  was  also  pro- 
pounded by  the  Corinthian  church  and  not  by  any  private  indi- 
viduals and  must  have  been  designed  to  guide  the  church  in  her 
treatment  of  the  individuals  whose  case  was  submitted  for 
apostolic  judgment.  The  apostle  was,  therefore,  to  decide 
whether  the  laws  of  Christ  required,  in  order  to  the  enjoyment 
*Read.  v.  12-15.  tSee  Sat.  6,  1.  3::.?-230. 


352  ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM. 

of  all  the  privileges  of  the  church,  that  a  'believing  husiband  or 
wife,  should  be  divorcedi  from  a  heathen  wife  or  (husband. 
Here  was  a  case  of  conscience,  a  religious  scruple,  a  practical 
difficulty  which  had  come  up  before  the  Corinthian  church  and 
upon  which  they  wished  to  ascertain  the  mindi  and  will  of  the 
Lord  from  His  inspired  and  in  so  far  His  infallible  apostle. 

That  such  was  the  true  and  only  point  before  the  apostle's 
view,  will  be  further  apparent  from  his  answer  in  which  he 
makes  no  allusion  to  the  civil  laws  or  to  the  mode  and  minister 
of  the  marriage,  nor  to  any  interference  with  this  matter  by  the 
church — ^but  only  to  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  parties  and 
those  O'f  their  children.  In  looking  at  this  decision  we  may  coni- 
sider  the  apostle  as  a  casuist  and  as  a  reasoiier. 

I.  As  a  casuist,  doctor,  dubitantuine  or  spiritual  counsellor, 
the  apostle  determines  that  in  the  case  presented  the  parties 
were  not  required  by  any  law  of  Christ,  nor  in  order  to  the  full 
enjoyment  of  any  and  all  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel  to  dis- 
solve their  matrimonial  connexion.  The  fact  that  one  of  the 
parents  in  any  family  was  yet  an  idolater,  did  not,  in'  his  judg- 
ment, form  a  barrier  to  the  full  participation  by  the  believing 
wife  and  their  coinmon  offspring  of  all  the  benefits  of  Chris- 
tianity. The  unbelief  of  that  'husband  or  wife  could  not  inter- 
cept the  flow  of  these  heavenly  blessings  in  Christ  Jesus,  to  his 
believing  partner  and  to  their  beloved  children.  And  if,  there- 
fore, such  an  unbeliever  was  willing  to  abide  with  the  believing 
partner  as  such  no  separation  was  to  be  sought,  since  by  virtue 
of  such  belief  the  full  privileges  of  the  christian  church  v/ere 
open  both  to  the  parent  and  tO'  the  children  also. 

As  a  casuist  then  the  apostle's  judgment  commends  itself  to 
leason,  c'harity,  and  to  the  word  of  God.  Nor  is  there  a  chris- 
tian church  in  the  world  which  would  otherwise  determine  this 
point  except  the  church  of  Rome,  which  in  her  arrogant  pre- 
sumption that  she  alone  is  the  church  would  sacrilegiously 
put  asunder  whom  God  hath  joined  together ;  and  the  church  of 
the  Immercioniists  (Baptists),  who  would  deny  to  infants  the 
benefits  which,  as  we  believe,  are  theirs  by  covenant  right  and 
the  purchase  of  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  the  promises  of  God. 

But,  suppose  the  apostle — as  some  teach,  us  that  ihe  does — to 
have  determined  here  that  where  parents  have  been  legally 


ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM.  353 

unitetJ  in  the  bonds  of  matrimony  according  to  those  forms 
which'  by  the  constitution  under  which  they  Hved  were  deemed 
most  proper  and  becoming;  to  be  still  truly  married  and  their 
children  legitimate,  even  although  one  of  them  become  a  chris- 
tian.— and  how  can  we  sustain  this  casuistry  as  either  Scriptural 
or  reasonable?  Did'  it  require  an  inspired  apostle  to  decide 
that  the  conversion  of  one  parent  to  God  does  not  ipso  factor 
render  the  other  parent  an  adulterer  and  their  children  illegiti- 
mate? Was  this  the  subject  upon  which  the  Corinthians 
solicited  an  opinion?  Or  would  it  have  conferred  any 
advantage  or  increased  knowledge  upon  them  to  have  ascer- 
tained that  their  marriages  were  not  annulled  and  their  families 
not  condemned  to  hopeless  degradation  by  their  adoption  of  the 
christian  faith  ?  Away  with  such  an  interpretation.  It  is  for- 
eign to  the  question  in  hand.  It  leaves  the  Corinthian  church 
unassisted  in  its  pressing  difficulty.  It  reduces  the  apostle  to 
the  ineffably  absurd  position  of  annoimcing  with  solemnity,  the 
astotmding  truth  that  the  marriage  of  such  parents  was  not 
illegitimate  and  to  be  deplored — ibecause  their  children  vrere 
legitimate.  "Else,"  says  the  apostle,  "according  to  this  inter- 
pretation your  marriage  v.-ere  illegitimate,  your  children  would 
be  also  illegitimate;  but  now  you  well  kno-w  that  your  children 
are  legitimate,  and  therefore  must  your  marriage  also  be  neces- 
sarily legitimate."  And  thus  in  order  tO'  prevent  children  from 
receiving  tihe  benefit  of  a  fair  interpretation  of  this  passage  the 
apostle  is  made  to  relieve  the  anxious  minds  of  these  Corin- 
thians by  telling  them  that  they  knew  as  well  as  he  did  that 
their  children  were  legitimate — that  they  did  not  and  could  not 
believe  otherwise — and  therefore  they  might  safely  dismiss  all 
doubts  as  to  the  legality  of  their  prior  marriage,  for  how  was  it 
possible  for  their  marriage  to  be  unlawful  seeing  that  its  issue 
was  as  certain!}-  lawful.  No-,  my  hearers,  this  is  not.  this  can- 
not be  what  the  apostle  tells  them,  nor  can  such  a  judgment  be 
attributed  to  the  Apostle  Paul.  What  he  tells  them  is  this — 
that  having  been  properly  married  they  were  not  to  separate. 
They  being  in  God's  sight  the  common  parent  of  these  child.ren, 
God  in  His  abundant  mercy  through  Christ  Jesus,  did  not 
reckon  the  condition  of  the  children  by  that  of  the  unbelieving 
parent,  but  by  that  of  the  believing  parent ;  and,  therefore,  they 

23— Vol.  X. 


354  ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM. 

were  to  be  esteemed  by  the  chui  ch  not  as  unclean  but  as  holy 
and  to  be  received  by  it  into  the  covenant  of  mercy.  Neither 
the  believing  parent,  therefore,  nor  the  children  were  to  be 
debarred  from  any  christian  privilege  because  of  the  unbelief 
of  the  husband  or  of  the  wife.  In  this  plain  interpretation  of 
the  passage  we  have  a  decision^ — but  in  the  other  none.  Here 
there  is  a  solution  of  the  proposed  difficulty  and  a  plain  direc- 
tory for  the  guidance  of  the  church.  The  apostle  acquits  him- 
self like  himself  and  as  becometh  that  glorious  gospel  which 
proclaims  peace  on  earth  and  good  will  to  m^en. 

Let  us  proceed,  then,  to  contemplate  the  apostle  as  a  reasoner, 
and  in  this  character  the  Apostle  Paul  is  justly  held  pre-emi- 
nent among  all  the  sacred  writers.  How,  :tlien,  does  the  apostle 
sustain  or  prove  his  position  that  in  the  case  supposed  the 
parents  were  not  to  divorce  themselves  from  each  other  and 
from  their  family? 

He  proves  it  by  shewing  that  such  a  separation  was  not 
demanded  by  the  laws  of  Christ  and  His  church,  either  as  it 
regards  the  believing  parent  or  the  infant  offspring.  For,  says 
he  (vii.  14),  the  unbelieving  husband  is  sanctified  by  the  believ- 
ing wife,  and  the  unbelieving  wife  is  sanctified  by  the  believing 
husband.  Christianity,  therefore,  does  not  require  their  sepa- 
ration. By  the  mystery  of  the  holy  bands  of  wedlock,  they  that 
were  twain  are  made  one  flesh.  When  either  parent,  therefore, 
is  led  to  devote  himself  or  herself  to  Christ,  in  an  everlastimg 
covenant,  he  or  she  does  at  the  same  time,  in  heart,  in  spirit,  in 
desire  and  in  prayer,  devote  also  to  Him  that  other  individual 
who  is  bound  up  with  them  in  the  unity  of  an  undivided  affec- 
tion. That  individual  is  thus  set  apart,  consecrated  and  dedi- 
cated to  God.  Over  him  are  shed  the  tears  of  anxious  solici- 
tude. For  him  are  offered  up  the  prayers  of  importunity  and 
earnest  supplication.  To  him  are  addressed  the  words  of  kind 
entreaty  and  persuasion.  Before  him  is  presented  the  example 
of  a  meek,  quiet  and  loving  spirit  to  win  and  woo  him  to  God 
and  to  repentance.  And  on  his  behalf  a  claim  is  also  registered 
in  the  throne  of  God.  He  is  brought  nigh  to  the  overtures  of 
divine  mercy,  and  it  is  only  necessary  that  he  should  put  forth 
the  hand  of  believing  faith  to  receive  a  full  and  perfect  admis- 
sion   into    all    the   privileges    and    blessings    of    the    christian 


ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM.  355 

iniheritance.  God  is  covenanted  or  pledged  to  bestow  it  on  him 
in  Christ  Jesus,  not  only  for  the  sake  of  His  atoning  blood  and 
mieritorious  righteousness ;  but  also  in  the  supereminency  of 
gospel  mercy  in  consequence  of  his  oneness  with  the  adoiDted 
heir  of  these  heavenly  privileges. 

To  such  an  one  there  is  in  the  very  fact  that  God  has  chosen 
his  partner  in  life  as  an  heir  of  faith  and  a  partaker  of  the 
grace  which  is  unto  salvation — a.  pledge  additional  to  all  others 
and  one  of  pectdiar  impressiveness  to  his  mind^ — that  if  he  also' 
will  turn  unto  God  and  lay  hold  oil  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  he 
shall  most  assuredly  be  saved.  And  because  it  has  been  thus 
graciously  determined  by  the  God  and  Father  of  our  L.ord 
Jesus  Christ;  so  that  while  His  grace  is  sufficient  to  guide  and 
sustain  the  believer  if  only  found  to  be  faithful,  it  is  also  ade- 
quate to  the  oonversiion  of  the  unbeliever  and  overflows  with 
mercy  to  their  childrenr— therefore,  argues  the  apostle.* 

Will  it  be  said  that  in  such  a  decision  there  is  nothing  expres- 
sive of  any  peculiar  benevolence  or  mildness  in  the  gospel  nor 
peculiarly  worthy  of  the  apostle  ?  We  answer  that  contrariwise 
there  is  in  this  very  decision  a  striking  proof  oi  that  liberty 
wherewith  Christ  has  made  us  free  and  of  that  deliverance 
from  his  former  Pharisaic  prejudices  by  which  this  apostle  was 
so  remarkably  distinguished.  For  if  you  will  turn  to  Deut. 
7  :3,  i,  you  will  find  that  under  the  Jewish  dispensation,  for 
wise  and  obvious  reasons,  such  inter-marriages  were  forbidden 
under  the  severest  penalty.  And  if  you  will  again  turn  to  the 
book  of  Ezra  x:  3  and  of  Nehemia'h  (Ch.  xiii :  25)  you  will 
there  learn  that  when  such  marriages  had  actually  been  con- 
tracted by  a  large  portion  of  the  people  they  were  required  to 
put  away  from  them  their  "strange  wives  and  such  as  were  born 
of  them,"  and  to  make  penitent  confession  of  their  trespass 
before  the  Lord. 

Such,  then,  having  been  the  law  of  God  under  the  Jewish 
dispensation,  and  there  being  in  almost  every  place  a  number 
of  Jews  among  the  first  christian  converts,  and  the  apostle 
himself  having  been  fully  indoctrinated  in  all  the  precepts  and 
traditions  of  the  Jewish  law — this  decision  is  ver}^  remarkable 
and  striking — the  privilege  it  confers  upon  christians  is  a  very 

*Quote   1   Cor.  vii :    1:2  and  13. 


356  ARTICI^ES  ON  BAPTISM, 

special  and  important  grant — its  spirit  harmonizes  with  that 
love  aiKl  mercy  which  is  the  genius  of  the  gospel  dispensation — 
while  it  was  a  full  answer  to  the  inquiry  of  the  Corinthian 
church  and  amply  sufficient  to  meet  the  scrupulous  anxieties  of 
both  the  presbytery  and  their  converts. 

But  the  apostle  further  deprecates  such  separations,  because 
as  the  christian  law  did  not  require  them,  in  order  to  extend 
all  its  privileges  to  the  believing  parent,  so  neither  did  it  make 
them  necessary  for  the  enjoyment  of  such  privileges  by  their 
children.  Did  the  christians,  like  the  Jewish  dispensation, 
pronounce  such  marriages  unclean  and  a  disqualification  for  the 
enjoyment  of  all  its  benefits  and  blessings,  then  would  the  chil- 
dren equally  with  their  parents  be  involved  in  such  a  censure 
and  be  also  excluded  from  the  pale  of  the  christian  church  and 
from  the  enjoyment  of  christian  ordinances.  Otherwise,  says 
the  apostle  (v.  14),  your  children  also  in  such  cases  of  mixed 
marriages,  were  unclean  and  unfit  to  be  admitted  to  those 
peculiar  ordinances  by  which  the  seed  of  God's  people  are  dis- 
tinguished; but  now  he  adds  they  are  on  the  contrary  as  yoii 
grant  confessedly  holy  and  are  as  readily  received  into  the 
church  by  baptism  as  if  both  parents  were  mentbers  of  the 
church.  Since,  then,  Christ  has  so  ordered  it  that  the  ancient 
law  on  this  subject  being  no  longer  necessary  should  be  no 
longer  in  force,  and  has  also  practically  determined  that  the 
oiTspring  of  such  marriages,  shall  be  considered  as  fit  subjects 
for  introdnction  to  all  the  blessings  of  the  New  Covenant,  why 
s'honld  such  parents  if  the  unbelieving  party  is  willing  to 
remain,  be  dissevered  from  each  other  and  from  their  family  ? 

The  terms  unclean  and  holy  are  here  used  as  expressive  of 
opposite  ideas,  so  that  by  understanding  either  the  other 
becomes  necessarily  plain  and  obvious.  Now,  it  is  related  in 
the  book  of  Acts*  that  Peter,  being  still  under  the  impression 
derived  from  his  Jewish  prejudices,  that  the  Gentiles  were 
unclean  and  that  the  gospel  was  to  be  proclaimed  only  to  the 
Jews,  was  to  be  employed  by  God  in  making  that  gospel  knovvn 
to  Cornelius,  a  Gentile  convert.  And  in  order  to  prepare  his 
mind  for  this  duty  a  vision  was  granted  unto  him  whereby  he 
was  assuredly  taught  he  was  no  longer  to  regard  the  Gentiles 

*See  Ch.  x:  14,  15,  28. 


ARTICI^ES  ON  BAPTISM.  357 

as  comnion  or  unclean — that  to  them  also  was  the  gospel 
addressed  and  all  its  privileges  granted.  Peter,  therefore, 
from  that  time  forward  laboured  as  earnestly  for  the  salvation 
of  the  Gentiles  as  of  the  Jews,  and  justified  his  conduct  by  this 
express  revelation  of  the  will  of  God.  By  the  term  unclean, 
therefore,  is  to  be  understood  that  they  to  whom  it  is  applied 
are  "Gentiles  in  the  flesh — strangers  from  the  covenant  of 
promise"t — ^that  covenant  of  which  the  Apostle  Peter  declared 
to  the  assemibled  multitude  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  "for  the 
promise  is  unto  you  and  to  your  children,  and  to  all  that  are 
afar  off,  even  as  many  as  the  Lord  our  God  shall  call."$ 

By  unclean,  therefore,  in  the  passage  before  us  we  must 
understand  that  the  children  who  are  such,  are  considered  as 
beyond  the  pale  of  the  christian  commonwealth^ — as  still  aliens 
from  its  covenant  and  promise — and  as  thus  debarred  from  the 
enjoyment  of  its  ordinances  and  privileges.  And  thus,  also,  the 
term  holy  must  be  understood  to  mean  that  the  children  of 
parents,  one  or  both  of  whom  are  within  the  pale  of  the  chris- 
tian church,  are  "a  holy  seed"  that  is  separated  to  God— and 
entitled  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  household  of  faith.  In  this 
sense,  says  Baxter,  the  term  holy  is  used  in  Scripture  nearly 
six  hundred  times,  and  in  the  sense  of  legitimate  no  where. 
For  our  interpretation  of  the  word  as  implying  separation  to 
God  there  are  600  authorities  in  the  word  of  God  and  for  that 
interpretation  vvhich  is  designed  to  exclude  infants  from  the 
kingdom  of  God  on  earth  there  is  not  a  single  authority  in  the 
whole  word  of  God.  These  terms  unclean  andi  holy  occur, 
says  Dr.  Guyse,  almost  numberless  times  in  the  Septuagent  or 
Greek  version  of  the  Bible  and  in  the  New  Testament,  "but  T 
don't  find  that  they  are  ever  once  used  to  signify  illegitimate 
and  legitimate."  "He  doth  not  say,"  says  the  learned  Whitby, 
in  his  Commenitary  on  these  words,  in  Williams,  pp.  374-376 : 
"He  doth  not  say.  Else  were  your  children  bastards,  but  now 
they  are  legitimate;  but,  else  were  they  unclean,  i.  c.,  heathen 
children;  not  to  be  owned  as  an  holy  seed."  That  this  is  the 
true  import  of  the  words  will  be  apparent  from  the  Scriptures, 
in  which  the  Heathens  are  styled  the  unclean  in  opposition  to 

tEph.  ii :  12-21.  JActs  ii :  39. 


358  ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM. 

the  Jews  in  covenant  with  God,  and.  therefore  styled'  an  holy 
people.  Sof  the  unclean  shall  not  pass  over  it.  Ch.  lii :  1. 
There  shall  no  more  come  unto  thee  the  unclean.  So  (Acts 
10:28)  God  hath  shewed  me  that  I  should  call  no  man  com- 
mon, or  unclean.  Whence  it  is  evident  that  the  Jews  looked 
upon  themselves  as  the  clean  servants  of  God  and  upon 
all  heathens  and  their  offspring,  as  unclean  by  reason  of  their 
want  of  circumcision,  the  sign  of  the  covenant.  Hence,  whereas 
it  is  said  that  Joshua  circumcised  the  people  (Josh,  v:  4) 
the  Septuagint  says  he  cleansed  them.  Moreover,  of  heathen 
children,  and  such  as  are  not  circtmicised,  they  say,  They  are 
not  bom  in  holiness;  but  they  on  the  contrary,  are  styled  an 
holy  seed  (Is.  6:13;  Ezra  9:2),  and  the  offspring  from  them, 
and  from  those  proselytes  which  had  embraced  their  religion, 
are  said  to  be  born  in  holiness,  and  so'  thought  fit  tO'  be  admitted 
to  circumcision,  or  baptism,  or  vvhatsoever  might  initiate  them 
into  the  Jewish  church.  And,  therefore,  to  this  sense  of  the 
•  words  holy  and  unclean,  the  apostle  may  be  here  most  rationally 
supposed  to  allude,  declaring  that  the  seed  of  holy  persons,  the 
offspring  born  of  saints,  as  christians  are  still  called  in  the  New 
Testament,  are  also  holy.  And  though  one  of  the  parents  be 
still  an  heathen,  yet  is  the  denomination  to  be  taken  from  the 
better,  and  also  their  offspring  are  to  be  esteemed  not  as  heath- 
ens, i.  e.,  unclean,  but  holy;  as  all  christians  by  denomination 
are.  So  Clemens  Alexandrius  (Strom  L.  3,  p.  4-45,  D.)  infers, 
saying:  'T  suppose  the  seedi  of  those  that  are  holy  is  holy, 
according  to  that  saying  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  The  unbelieving 
wife  is  sanctified  by  the  husband,  &c.  The  word  used  for  a 
bastard  by  this  apostle*  is  the  proper  word  for  a  legitimate 
offspring,  had  the  apostle  intended  suchi  a  sense,  (as  our  oppo- 
nents plead  for)  he  sihould  have  used  the  words,  which  in  the 
Greek  w^riters  are  generally  used  in  that  sense,  and  not  such 
words  as  in  the  Septuagint.  and  in  the  Jewish  language,  alzcays 
have  a  relation  tO'  federal  (or  relative)  holiness,  or  the  want 
of  it ;  but  none  at  all  to  the  legitimacy  or  spuriousness  of  the 
birth" 

We  are,  therefore,  taught  that  in  the  christian  church  the 
children  of  parents  one  or  both  of  whom  are  connected  with 

tis.  35,  8.  *Heb.  12,  8, 


ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM.  359 

the  visible  church,  sustain  to  it  the  same  relation,  which  they 
did  to  the  Jewish  church.  They  are  holy  and  not  unclean. 
They  are  born  within  and  not  without  the  church.  They  are 
natural  bom  citizens  in  this  spiritual  republic,  with  a  right  and 
title  to  all  it  immunities  and  privileges  inalienably  theirs.  Anid 
as  "God,"  to  use  the  words  of  Mr.  Baxter,  "never  had  a  church 
on  earth  oi  which  infants  were  not  infant  members  since  there 
were  infants  in  the  world."*  So  is  it  here  assumed  as  an  unde- 
niable principle,  that  this  law  of  infant  membership  in  the 
Church  of  God  remains  unchanged.  Its  mode  of  application  is 
indeed  altered,  but  the  law  itself  never  has  been  abrogated  or 
annulledi.  The  children  of  such  parents  are  still  holy  to  the 
Lord — separated  to  Him  and  within  the  covenant  of  His  mercy. 
Such  is  the  relation  in  which  the  children  of  the  members  of 
the  church  stand  to  that  church.  They  are  admitted  to  privi- 
leges peculiar  to  them  as  such — privileges  which  flow  to  them 
from  the  grace  of  God  in  covenant  through  Jesus  Christ  the 
Mediator.  They  are  thus  distinguished  from  the  children  of 
other  parents  and  which  are  in  contrast  denominated  unclean. 
This  passage,  therefore,  though  it  says  nothing  directly  of 
baptism  and  has  immediate  reference  indeed  to  a  different  sub- 
ject altogether  is  yet  on  that  very  account  the  more  plain  and 
forcible  as  a  testimony  to  the  truth  of  our  position.  It  assumes 
as  an  indisputable  fact  that  the  children  of  believing  parents  are 
holy.  There  seems  to  have  been  no  question  on  the  subject 
where  both  parents  were,  such — the  only  question  being  in 
reference  to  the  case  of  one  parent  only  being  such.  "On  the 
maturest  and  most  impartial  consideration  of  the  text,"  says 
Dr.  Doddridge,  quoted  from  Williams,  "I  must  judge  it  to  refer 
to  infant  baptism.  Nothing  can  be  more  apparent  than  that  the 
word  holy  signifies  persons,  who  might  be  admitted  tO'  partake 
of  the  distinguishing  rites  of  God's  people.  Compare  Exod. 
19:6;  Deut.  7:6;  14:2;  36:19;  33:3;  Ezra  9:2,  with  Is.  35:8; 
52  :1 ;  Acts  10  :28,  &c.  And  as  for  the  interpretation,  which  so 
many  oi  our  brethren,  the  Baptists,  have  contended  for,  that 
holy  signifies  legitimate,  and  unclean  illegitimate ;  (not  to  urge 
that  this  seems  an  unscriptural  sense  of  the  word)  nothing  can 

^Comment,  on  Math.,  28,  19. 


360  ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM. 

be  more  evident,  than  that  the  argument  will  by  no  means 
bear  it." 

That  this  passage,  then,  cannot  refer  to  the  question  of  legiti- 
macy and  must  refer  to  the  question  of  church  privilege— has, 
I  trust,  been'  made  apparent.  But  if  this  is  the  meaning  of  the 
passage  then^  is  the  inference  irresistible  that  the  children  of 
parents,  one  or  both  of  whom  are  within  the  covenant  of  the 
visible  church,  are  by  nature  of  their  relation  to  such  parents 
holy  and  are  thereby  invested  with  the  right  tO'  a  covenanted 
enjoyment  of  all  the  privileges  and  blessings  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ.  In  other  words,  the  Church  of  God  is  essentially  the 
same  under  the  Christian  and  the  Jewish  economy — ^being  under 
the  same  covenant  of  grace  and  in  its  matured  and  perfected 
external  developments.  Those  privileges  which  were  essen- 
tially connected  with  that  covenant  are,  o>f  course,  perpetuated, 
however  modified  in  their  outward  forms  or  signs.  And  as  the 
holiness  of  children  by  virture  of  their  relation  to  the  parents 
who  were  visibly  within  the  covenant,  was  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  and  esteemed  privileges  of  this  covenant  during  all 
the  former  dispensation  of  the  church,  that  privilege  must 
remain  unless  it  can  be  s^hewn  by  positive  eniactmient  that  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  has  abrogated  and  annulled  it. 
But  this  we  defy  any  reader  of  the  New  Testament  to  make 
manifest.  On  the  contrary,  there  is  an  acknowledged  silence 
on  this  subject.  It  is  not  treated  of  as  one  which  could  come 
into  any  doubt.  .  The  relation  of  children  remained  the  same 
and  their  privileges  are  everywhere  tacitly  implied.  The  whole 
language  of  the  New  Testament  is  moulded  as  on  this  suppo- 
sition we  should  have  expected  it  to  be.  Childreni  are— ^as  in 
our  text — declared  to  be  holy  where  one  or  both  parents  are  by 
covenant  or  outward  memibersihip  in  the  church,  hoi}-.  Tht? 
command  is  to  disciple  all  nations,  baptizing  them.  The  Jews 
are  told  that  the  promise  of  the  gospel  is  to  them  andi  to  their 
children.  "Of  such,''  that  is  of  Httle  children,  our  Saviour 
assures  us,  "is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  And  while  it  is  true 
that  we  generally  read  of  the  baptism  of  adult  believers  for  the 
simple  reason  that  the  gospel  was  at  first  necessarily  preached  to 
sudh,  yet  do  we  read  also  of  the  baptism  of  entire  households 
upon  the  faith  of  their  head.     \Miile  in  the  whole  New  Testa- 


ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM.  361 

nient  there  is  not  to  be  found  one  solitary  case  of  an  adult 
■being  baptized  where  one  or  both  the  parents  hadi  been,  baptized 
before  him,  not  one  isolated  example;  and,  therefore,  were 
there  the  record  of  the  baptism  of  10.000  adult  converts  w'hose 
parenls  had  been  either  heathen,  or  Jews  this  would  only  cor- 
roborate the  more  our  position,  for  we  restrain  with  the  apostle 
the  privilege  of  infant  dedication!  by  baptism  to  those  children, 
one  or  both  of  whose  parents  had  been  already  introduced 
within  the  visible  church  by  baptism.  But  as  it  is  our  purpose 
to  consider  these  and  other  topics  more  fully  and  in  detail  I 
will,  therefore,  not  enlarge  upon  these  at  present. 

Neither  will  I  now  consider  the  bearing  of  this  important 
passage  upon  the  question  of  the  extent  of  this  privilege  of 
infant  baptism  and  whether  in  order  to  be  validly  administered 
one  or  both  parents  must  be  in  actual  connexion  with  any  par- 
ticular church.  This  subject  also  I  hope  to  bring  fully  before 
you  at  some  future  time.  At  present  I  will  only  remark  that 
while  this  passage  does  certainly  decide  that  one  or  both  parents 
must  have  been  connected  with  the  visible  church  as  members 
by  their  own  baptism — it  certainly  does  not  decide  that  where 
one  or  both  parents  bad  been  baptized,  and  have  thus  been 
introduced  as  members  within  the  visible  church,  and  where 
both  these  parents  fail  to  embrace  their  rightful  privilege  by 
actually  associating  with  some  particular  church,  that  through 
this  their  fault  and  heinoiis  guilt,  their  children  became  unclean 
whereas  they  are  by  birth  holy.  My  present  judgment  clearly 
is  that  as  by  baptism  we  are  made  members  of  Christ's  visible, 
though  not  necessarily  of  His  invisible  church,  that  the  children 
of  such  parents  as  have  been  one  or  both  baptized  are  bom  a 
holy  seed,  so  far  as  regards  the  privileges  of  the  church  visible, 
and  are,  therefore,  to  receive  baptism,  which  is  the  outward 
seal  of  those  privileges  and  of  that  membership  whereby  they 
are  secured.     But  of  this  again. 

Let  us  at  present  be  fully  established  in  our  faith  in  the  holi- 
ness of  our  children  as  being  entitled  tO'  a  membership  in  the 
visible  church.  Let  us  be  assured  that  this  privilege  appertains 
to  the  church  no  less  in  its  christian  than  in  its  patriarchal, 
Abrahamic  and  Jewish  forms.  Let  us  more  highly  value  and 
esteem  it  in  such  a  spirit  of  prayer  and  faith  as  shall  secure  for 


3G2  ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM. 

our  offspring  not  merely  an  outward  but  also  a  spiritual 
engrafting  into  the  good  olive  tree,  the  church  of  the  first  bom, 
whose  names  are  written  in  heaven. 

Consult :  Williams'  Anti-Poedo  Baptism  Examined,  Vol.  I,  p.  — . 
Addington  on  Infant  Baptism,  p.  — . 
Hall's  Law  of  Infant  Baptism. 


ARTICLE  IV. 

The  Infant's  Right  to  Baptism  Pleaded  Against  Unbe- 
lieving Parents. 

Rom.  3 :  1-3. 

What  advantage  then  hath  the  Jew  ?  or  what  profit  is  there  in  circum- 
cision ? 

Much  every  way :  chiefly  that  because  that  unto  them  were  committed 
the  oracles  of  God. 

For  what  if  some  did  not  believe  ?  Shall  their  unbelief  make  the  faith 
of  God  without  effect  ? 

The  apostle,  in  this  chapter,  in  order  to  establish  more  fully 
his  great  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith,  continues  his  proofs 
of  the  guilty  condition  of  both  the  Jews  and  the  Gentiles.  He 
shows,  therefore,  that  whatever  prerogatives  the  Jews  pos- 
sessed, by  virtue  of  their  union  to  the  one.  Holy  and  Catholic 
Church  of  God,  and  their  enjoyment  of  all  its  ordinances,  and 
its  blessed  privileges;  that,  because  of  their  personal  unbelief 
these  privileges  would  avail  them  nothing.  They  were  found 
guilty  before  God.  Their  participation  of  the  external  rites 
and  sacraments  of  the  church  would  by  no  means  save  them 
or  deliver  them  from  the  wrath  that  is  to  come.  And  that  in 
order  to  their  salvation  they  must  have  that  faith  in  Christ, 
by  which  alone,  in  its  principle  or  its  act,  any  soul  can  be  justi- 
fied in  the  sight  of  God. 

To  this  conclusion  the  Jew  is  here  introduced,  as  offering 
very  powerful  objections.  The  apostle  would  not,  and  could 
not,  deny,  that  they  were  the  true  Church  of  God  and  that 
theirs  were  all  its  heavenly  gifts.  But  on  this  principle, 
argues  the  Jew,  you  destroy  all  distinction  between  the  Jew 
and  the  Gentile,  so  as  to  make  it  a  matter  of  no  importance  to 
be  a  Jew,  and  therefore  to  be  within  the  bound  of  the  true 
church.  "What  advantage  then  hath  the  Jew?  Where  are 
his  privileges  and  superiority,  for,  on  your  reasoning,  they  are 
annihilated,  and  the  whole  virtue  and  efficacy  of  God's  own 
appointed  ordinances  destroyed?"  These  Jewish  churchmen 
reposed  precisely  the  same  confidence  upon  their  sacramental 
rites,  circumcision  and  the  passover,  which  modern  churchmen 
do  upon  theirs.  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper.  They 
regarded  them  with  the  same  superstitious  reverence,  as  the 


364  ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM. 

infallible  sources  of  all  spiritual  and  heavenly  grace — the 
fountains  of  divine  mercy — the  sources  of  real  and  actual 
blessings — and  the  means  of  an  assured  introduction  to  the 
favour  of  God  and  to  a  state  of  justified  acceptance  in  His 
sight.  On  these  rites,  and  their  valid  participation  in  them, 
as  duly  administered  by  priestly  hands,  they  confidently  based 
their  claims  to  the  divine  clemency.  To  deny,  therefore,  their 
necessary  efficacy,  and  to  rank  their  participants  on  a  par  with 
unbelieving  heathen,  was,  in  their  estimation,  a  most  horrible 
impiety  and  a  flat  denial  of  all  the  promises  of  heaven.  If, 
therefore,  asks  the  indignant  churchman,  if  circumcision  is  not 
itself  conversion,  or  does  not  necessarily  ensure  it  to  its 
recipient;  and  if  the  circumcised  cannot  be  saved,  on  any 
other  conditions  than  the  uncircumcised. — of  what  possible 
advantage  is  the  Church  of  God? 

One  thing  is  most  certainly  taught  us  here,  and  by  all  the 
reasoning  of  the  apostle,  and  that  is,  that  circumcision,  though 
one  of  the  sacramental  ordinances  of  the  ancient  church,  was 
not  necessarily  a  saving  ordinance.  It  was  not  regeneration, 
neither  did  it  certainly  secure  it.  It  was  not  justification, 
neither  did  it  secure  to  its  partaker  the  assured  favour  of  God. 
Another  regeneration  was  necessary  in  order  to  an  entrance 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  even  that  which  cometh  from 
above.  Another  justification  was  imperatively  required  as  a 
preliminary  to  any  entrance  there,  even  that  which  cometh  by 
faith  of  the  Son  of  God.  For  he  was  not  a  Jew  who  was  one 
outwardly. 

And  vet,  while  the  apostle  thus  plainly  overthrows  their 
fond  conceit,  of  a  sacramental  regeneration  through  the 
efficacy  of  this  initiating  ordinance ;  he  as  plainly  declares  that 
in  their  enjoyment  of  these  church  privileges  the  Jew  pos- 
sessed many  advantages  (2:  2).  These  are  all  included,  as 
being  summarily  comprehended  in  this  one,  namely,  that  by 
this  initiating  sacrament  they  were  introduced  into  a  church 
state.  They  were  constituted  members  of  God's  visible 
church  and  were  introduced  to  all  its  privileges  and  to  all  its 
opportunities  for  receiving  and  for  doing  good.  This  is  what 
is  meant  by  the  oracles  of  God,  in  this  connexion,  the  term 
having  reference  to  any  divine  response  or  communication. 


ARTlCDvS  ON   BAPTISM.  365 

We  are  also  here  taught  that  the  unbehef  of  any  individual 
parents  does  not  affect  the  covenant  of  God,  which  He  had 
entered  into  with  this  people ;  or  the  extension  of  its  blessings, 
according  to  the  gracious  provisions  of  its  divine  authority 
to  the  children  of  such  unfaithful  and  unworthy  members  of 
the  church,  of  which  this  covenant  was  the  charter.  "If," 
says  the  apostle,  "some  were  unfaithful,"  that  is,  if  some  of 
the  Jews  have  apostatized,  and.  are,  therefore,  personally  in 
no  better  condition  than  the  heathen, — "will  their  unfaithful- 
ness render  void  the  faithfulness  of  God" — that  is,  how  will 
this  consist  with  the  faithfulness  of  God,  as  to  His  promises 
made  to  the  Jewish  nation?'''  Now  for  our  purpose,  it  matters 
not  whether  this  language  is  to  be  regarded  as  that  of  the 
apostle  or  of  the  Jewish  object — or,  since  the  supposition  that 
such  individual  apostacy  would,  in  any  way,  affect  the  privi- 
leges attached  to  God's  covenant,  is  most  positively  denied  by 
the  apostle.  These  privileges,  Paul  asserts,  remain  unaltered 
and  unalterable,  to  whomsoever  they  properly  belong,  though 
their  view  of  their  real  character  was  entirely  perverted  and 
unwarranted  by  God.  This  covenant  secured  to  all  within  it 
certain  advantages ;  and  to  all  who  truly  embraced  its  offers 
real  and  effectual  grace.  But  it  did  not,  as  these  Jewish 
churchmen  supposed,  entail  upon  every  one  to  whom  it  was 
externally  sealed,  the  unconditional  and  necessary  enjoyment 
of  saving  grace.  These  men  argued  that  because  they  were 
the  church  and  thus  in  covenant  with  God,  that  so  long  as  they 
preserved  this  character,  by  the  observance  of  the  appointed 
sacraments,  and  other  ceremonies,  they  must  necessarily  retain 
the  divine  favour  and  blessing.  Thus  would  they  be  heard 
boasting  of  their  uninterrupted  succession,  saying— "we  have 
Abraham  for  our  Father" — "we  be  Abraham's  seed." 

Now  the  futility  of  all  such  claims,  as  a  ground  of  hope  for 
personal  salvation,  the  apostle  exposes.  He  shows  that  this 
foundation  on  which  modern  Jews  also  rely,  is  most  perilous 
and  unsafe.  Personal  holiness  alone  could  secure  personal 
salvation,  and  this  could  be  obtained  only  through  faith  in  the 
justifying  righteousness  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  There  is, 
thus  argues  the  apostle,  no  breach  of  the  promises  of  God,  or 

*See  Stuart. 


366  ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM. 

of  His  covenant  with  His  church,  or  of  His  instituted  sacra- 
ments, in  the  condemnation  of  wicked  Jews,  or  the  introduc- 
tion into  the  same  privileges  with  them  of  the  Gentiles,  since 
these  promises  of  God  were  made,  not  to  the  natural  but  to 
the  spiritual  seed  of  Abraham ;  not  to  all  who  are,  by  outward 
participation  of  the  sacraments,  called  Israel,  but  to  them  only 
who  are  of  Israel;  and  that,  therefore,  they  will  be  all  fully 
accomplished,  though  millions  who  trust  in  these  external 
privileges  are  everlastingly  abandoned. 

Now  these  principles,  thus  established  by  the  apostle,  are 
of  equal  importance  to  us  now,  and  in  their  application  to  the 
church  and  ordinances  of  Christ.  It  has  been  already  estab- 
lished in  a  former  discourse  that  baptism  in  the  christian 
church  takes  the  place  of  circumcision  in  the  same  church 
under  its  ancient  form.  So  that  circumcision  is  the  Jewish 
baptism,  and  baptism  the  christian  circumcision.*  They  are 
both  seals,  of  the  same  covenant  of  grace,  under  different 
administrations.  They  are  both  sacraments  of  initiation,  or 
admittance  into  the  one  church  of  God.  They  are  both  used 
by  God,  as  instruments  to  convey  (not  by  any  inherent  virtue, 
but  at  his  pleasure)  the  same  grace.  Col.  2:  11,  12.  And  the 
subjects  of  both  are  the  same,  that  is,  professed  members  of 
the  church  visible,  and  their  children.  There  are,  therefore, 
the  same  covenant,  the  same  promises,  the  same  privileges 
attached  to  the  church  christian  as  to  the  church  Jewish,  only 
enlarged  and  extended. 

It  is,  therefore,  also  as  true  of  the  christian  ordinance  of 
baptism,  as  of  the  Jewish  ordinance  of  circumcision,  that  it  is 
not  necessarily  a  saving  ordinance.! 

It  is,  therefore,  just  as  delusive  to  expect  salvation  from  the 
mere  administration  of  baptism,  as  from  circumcision  Bap- 
tism is  no  more  a  regenerating  ordinance  than  circumcision 
was,  nor  is  regeneration,  as  it  implies,  a  renewal  of  the  heart, 
or  justification  any  more  baptism,  or  necessarily  associated 
with  baptism,  than  they  were  with  circumcision.  And  as 
many,  like  Abraham,  were  justified  when  as  yet  uncircum- 
cised,     and    multitudes    were    unrenewed     and     unjustified, 

*Rom.  6,  4  :  Col.  3.  11  :  Jer.  9,  26.  and  4,  4  ;  1  Pet.  3.  21.  22. 
tConf.  of  F.  ch.  xxviii,  §  v.  and  vi. 


ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM.  367 

although  circumcised;  so  also  are  many,  like  Paul,  converted 
while  unbaptized,  and  many  unrenewed  and  unjustified,  like 
Simon  Magers,  while  they  had  been  the  subjects  of  baptism. 

But  still  it  is  far  from  being  true  that  baptism,  although  not 
necessarily  and  in  every  case  a  saving  ordinance,  is  not  a 
source  of  many  blessings  and  to  be  esteemed,  a  privilege  of 
great  importance.  Though  baptism  is  neither  regeneration 
nor  justification,  it  is  a  sign  and  seal  of  both;  it  is  as  one 
church  teaches,^  "a  sacrament  of  the  New  Testament, 
ordained  by  Jesus  Christ." 

If,  therefore,  initiation  into  the  christian  commonwealth, — 
and  a  recognition  of  citizenship  in  this  'heavenly  kingdom,  if 
a  birth-right  to  all  its  privileges,  immunities  and  blessings,  if 
an  adoption  into  the  family  and  to  a  common  participation 
in  all  the  blessings  of  the  christian  household,  if  to  be  brought 
imder  the  special  promises  of  God  and  the  special  care  and 
nurture  of  the  Church  of  God,  if  these  are  privileges,  and  who 
that  believes  in  Christianity  will  deny  that  they  are  great  and 
eminent  benefits  ?  then  is  christian  baptism^  of  much  advantage 
every  way,  although  we  repudiate  the  delusive  and  most  dan- 
gerous error  of  baptismal  regeneration. 

But  in  respect  to  baptism  it  is  also  true,  as  in  reference  to 
circumcision,  that  inasmuch  as  it  is  the  seal  of  God's  covenant, 
whose  promise  is  that  all  its  blessed  privileges  are  to  us  and 
to  our  children;  therefore,  the  failure  of  any  individual 
parents  to  avail  themselves  of  their  high  privileges,  and  their 
criminality  in  not  fulfilling  the  ends  of  their  "high  calling," 
cannot  prevent  the  extension,  to  their  children,  of  those 
benefits  and  blessings  which  they  unbelievingly  reject.  The 
charter — ^the  covenant — the  promise — is  the  Lord's.  Its  entire 
validity,  security  and  certainty,  depend  on  His  word  who  can- 
not lie,  and  His  promise  who  will  not  deny  Himself.  The 
blessings  entailed  and  guaranteed  by  this  divine  gift,  do  not 
accrue  to  any  individual  through  any  merit  or  deserving  in  his 
parent.  They  are  not  transmitted  by  the  parent,  nor  com- 
municable by  him.  They  remain  in  the  divine  treasury.  They 
are  administered  according  to  the  divine  good  pleasure  and 

tConf.  of  F.  ch.  28,  §  1,  p.  144. 


368  ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM. 

unerring  wisdom.  They  proceed  from  the  Father  of  lights, 
from  whom  cometh  down  every  good  and  perfect  gift. 

The  question,  therefore,  to  whom  are  these  privileges 
extended,  and  to  whom,  therefore,  baptism,  which  is  the  seal 
of  this  heavenly  charter,  ought  to  be  applied,  can  only  be 
determined  by  a  reference  to  that  covenant  as  containing  the 
will  of  its  heavenly  author.  Baptism,  let  it  be  observed,  is 
not  an  introduction  to  any  particular  church,  so  as  to  consti- 
tute its  recipient  a  member  of  that  particular  church,  but  it 
is  an  initiation  into  the  church  Catholic,  and  a  right  and  title 
by  which  its  possessor,  on  presenting  the  credentials  of  his 
proper  qualifications,  may  claim  admission  to  any  particular 
church  as  a  component  part  of  that  universal  church.  Bap- 
tism, therefore,  as  a  seal,  has  reference  to  the  past  and  not  to 
the  future — to  the  covenant  of  grace  which  is  already  made 
sure,  and  the  fulfillment  of  whose  ratified  pledges  it  thus 
immutably  secures  to  all  to  whom  they,  of  right,  belong.  To 
vvhom  then  do  these  privileges,  externally,  in  their  offers  prop- 
erly extend — this  is  the  one  inquiry  to  be  settled  in  order  to 
a  determination  of  this  question. 

Nov/,  as  there  were  three  ways  in  which  individuals  became 
entitled  to  the  sacrament  of  circumcision,  so  are  there  three 
ways  in  which  persons  may  become  the  proper  recipients  of 
the  sacrament  of  baptism.  The  first  is  personal — by  a  per- 
sonal profession  of  the  true  faith  and  covenant  with  God,  and 
in  this  way  must  all  adults  not  baptized  be  admitted  to  this 
ordinance.  The  second  is  parental — where  one  or  both 
parents  have  been  received  into  covenant  by  the  application  of 
this  its  instituted  seal.  The  children  of  such  parents  are  fed- 
erally holy,  or  consecrated  to  God,  and  are  therefore  entitled 
to  baptism,  by  which  that  fact  or  right  is  openly  acknowledged 
and  confirmed.  The  third  is  adoptive — where  the  children  of 
any  who  are  not  in  covenant  with  God,  are  adopted  by  such 
as  are,  as  their  children,  and  are  in  right  of  their  covenant 
relation  entitled  to  this  its  pledge  and  seal.* 

The  tenor  of  that  ancient  covenant  was :  "I  will  be  thy  God 
and  the  God  of  thy  seed."t     "I  will  establish  my  covenant 

*See  Vindicice  Vindidarum.  Lond.  1651,  410,  p.  208-210.  in  Tracts  on 
the  Church.  tGen.  17,  7. 


ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM.  369 

between  me  and  thee,  and  thy  seed  after  thee  in  their  genera- 
tions, for  an  everlasting  covenant,  to  be  a  God  to  thee  and  to 
thy  seed  after  thee."  "Know,  therefore,"  says  God,  "that  the 
Lord  thy  God,  He  is  God,  the  faithful  God,  which  keepeth 
covenant  and  mercy  with  them  that  love  Him  and  keep  His 
commandments  to  a  thousand  generations. J  And  thus  a  score 
of  centuries  after  Jehovah's  promise  to  l)e  thus  the  God  of 
Abraham  and  his  seed,  they  are  declared  to  I^e  "as  touching 
the  election  beloved,  for  thi;  pATi-iiiR's  sake." 

Now  the  blessings  of  this  covenant,  it  was  made  knovvai, 
should  extend  to  the  Gentiles.  Abraham  was  to  be  the  "father 
of  many  nations"  and  the  promise  "sure  to  all  the  seed,  not 
only  to  that  which  is  of  the  law,  but  to  that  which  is  of  faith." 
Thus  Isaiah  describes  the  covenant  under  its  new  dispensa- 
tion (().■),  17).  "For  behold  I  create  new  heavens  and  a  new- 
earth  ;  and  the  former  shall  not  be  remembered,  nor  come  into 
mind.  '■'  *  '■'  They  shall  not  labour  in  vain  nor  bring  forth  for 
trouble,  for  they  are  the  seed  of  the  blessed  of  the  Lord,  raid 
their  offspring  with  them." 

This  covenant  was  made  with  Abraham  as  the  father  of  tlie 
faithful,  but  primarily  with  Jesus  Christ. §  So  that  to  His 
seed,  which  is  the  churcli,  these  promises  and  privileges  extend. 
For  "if  you  be  Christ's,  then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed  and  heirs 
according  to  the  promise.'"** 

And  thus  the  x\postle  Peter  declares :  "The  promise  is  to 
you,  and  to  your  children,  and  to  all  that  are  afar  off,  even  as 
many  as  the  Lord  and  God  shall  call.'''tt 

If  then  this  covenant  is  ours,  and  its  promises  and  blessings 
ours,  its  benefits  must  l^e  as  extensive  in  their  application  as 
those  promises  warrant.  They  are,  therefore,  applicable  to 
all,  and  to  the  seed  of  all,  who  are  within  the  covenant.  And 
since  the  benefits,  and  privileges  of  the  church  visible,  are 
granted  upon  a  credible  profession  of  the  faith,  while  they 
are  only  efficacious  to  those  who  are  truly  in  the  faith,  they 
are  also  to  be  extended,  as  far  as  applicable,  to  the  children  of 
such  as  have  been  thus  introduced  within  the  covenant,  how- 
ever unworthy  their  parents  may  be.     For  the  promise  of  the 

$Deut.  7.  **Gal.  3,  28.  29. 

§Gal.  .3,  16.  ttActs  2,  .39. 

24— Vol.  X. 


370  ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM. 

covenant  is  to  their  children  also,  and  therefore  its  rejection 
or  abuse  by  the  parents  cannot  debar  their  children  from  its 
enjoyment.li  As  the  children  of  such  as  were  externally  in 
covenant  were  entitled  to  circumcision,  so  are  the  children  of' 
such  as  are  now  in  the  same  relation  to  be  baptized. §§  But 
it  is  very  plain,  and  allowed  by  all,  that  individuals  become 
members  of  the  visible  church  by  baptism,  which  is  its 
initiating  ordinance  and  the  seal  of  its  covenant.  And  hence 
it  follows  that  the  children  of  all  who  have  been  thus  baptized, 
and  by  baptism  brought  within  the  covenant,  are  entitled  also 
to  baptism  which  is  the  external  seal  of  that  promise  which 
is  made  to  the  children.  "If  the  root  be  holy,"  or  consecrated 
to  God,  "so  also  are  the  branches."  Rom.  11 :  IG.  This  holi- 
ness cannot  refer  to  that  which  is  personal,  in  which  sense 
the  declaration  is  not  true.  It  must,  therefore,  be  that  rela- 
tive or  federal  holiness,  which  is  secured  by  their  being  within 
the  covenant  and  being  thus  devoted  to  God.  Hence  it  fol- 
lows that  since  God  hath  chosen  the  Gentiles,  their  branches 
are  holy  when  the  root  is  thus  federally  holy,  and  are  therefore 
proper  subjects  for  baptism. 

Such,  my  brethren,  is  a  brief  outline  of  the  argument  by 
which  it  may  be  shewed  that  baptism  is  not  to  be  limited  to 
the  children  of  such  as  are  in  actual  communion  with  any  par- 
ticular church ;  but  is  to  be  extended  also  to  the  children  of 
such  as  have  been  themselves  received  into  covenant  with  the 
Lord,  by  baptism.  To  them  belongs  the  promise,  of  which 
baptism  is  the  pledge ;  and  having  the  right  and  title,  who  can 
deny  them  the  seal  ?  Such  is  the  view  taken  by  the  fathers, 
as  Augustine ;  by  the  Reformers,  as  Bucan,  Calvin,  Wallens, 
the  Professors  of  Leyden  ;*  and  by  the  early  fathers  of  our 
own  church.  In  his  "Government  of  the  Church  of  Scotland 
Proved  by  Scripture,"  written  in  A.  D.  1612,  Rutherford,  Pro- 
fessor of  Divinity  in  St.  Andrew's,  thus  describes  the  practice 
at  that  time :  "The  presenter  of  the  child  is  the  father,  or  some 
friend,  if  he  be  dead  or  absent,  because  the  child  is  received 

nSce  Esek.  20,  18.  19,  22,  36.  37,  42,  43  ;  Ps.  106,  40,  45.  46  ;  Rom.  3.  3  ; 
Lev.  26,  44,  45  ;  and  Rutherford's  Plea,  p.  166. 

SSGen.  17,  10,  and  8,  3;  Josh.  5,  2.  3,  7,  13,  15,  18;  and  do.  do.  165, 
171,  173. 

*See  qnoted  in  Rutherford's  Plea,  p.  171.  172. 


ARTlCIvIJS  ON  BAPTISM.  371 

in  the  covenant  because  the  fathers  are  within  the  covenant, 
and  so  sealed  with  the  same  seal  of  the  covenant. "f  Indeed, 
the  only  question  then  was  how  far  this  privilege  should  be 
considered  as  extending  and  not  the  privilege  itself. $ 

To  this  conclusion  it  may  be  objected  that  such  parents, 
though  baptized,  are  not  members  of  any  particular  church ; 
and  that,  therefore,  their  children  are  not  entitled  to  baptism. 
But  to  this  it  may  be  replied,  that  neither  were  the  Eunuch 
or  the  Philippian  jailer  members  of  any  particular  church, 
when  they  received  baptism.  Nor  is  baptism,  as  has  been 
stated,  an  initiation  to  any  particular  church,  but  to  the  church 
Catholic;  and  the  parents  being  members,  externally,  of  this 
Catholic  church,  so  are  their  children  fit  subjects  for  that  ordi- 
nance which  is  the  rightful  privilege  of  all  children  who  are 
thus  descended. 

It  may  be  further  objected  that  such  parents  may  not  have 
made  any  profession  of  their  faith,  and  that  on  this  ground 
their  children  ought  not  to  be  baptized.  But  if  they  have 
either  of  them  been  baptized,  they  are  of  necessity  members 
of  the  Catholic  church ;  and  the  baptism  of  their  children  is 
their  privilege  as  such.  And  since  they  have  not  openly 
renounced  that  profession  of  faith  in  God  and  in  the  provisions 
of  His  covenant,  which  was  made  for  them  in  infancy,  they 
must  still  be  regarded,  however  unworthily  or  inconsistently, 
as  implicitly  making  that  profession.  Besides  they  have  never 
been  excommunicated  from  the  church,  in  which,  therefore, 
they  must  still  be  considered  as  retaining  their  standing,  how- 
ever they  may  be  unworthy  and  would  not  be  allowed  to  par- 
take, in  their  present  condition,  without  a  credible  profession 
on  their  own  part,  of  the  ordinances  in  any  particular  church. 
Even  if  they  had  been  excommunicated,  unless  they  had  been 
forever  cut  off  by  the  greater  excommunication,  they  are  only 

^  tActs  2,  37.  38;  Rom.  11.  14;  Gen.  17,  7.  8,  9.  10,  in  Pleading,  p.  316. 
See  also  Carhet's  Remains,  p.  1.56.  Vindicice  Vindiciarum,  p.  183,  208, 
209,  etc.  Firmin's  Separation  Examined,  Lond.  1652,  410.  p.  44  and  45, 
where  their  practice  is  shown. 

tSee  Vind.  Vind.,  p.  187,  188,  189.  191,  193,  210.  Rutherford's  Plea, 
168,   169,  172,   184. 

§Even  the  Puritans  of  New  England,  against  whom  the  Presb.  argued 
on  this  subject  allowed  baptism  lo  the  infants  of  one  or  both  baptized 
parents,  although  not  communicants,  where  the  parent  had  died  or  was 
otherwise  necessarily  prevented  from  uniting  with  the  church.  Neal's 
New  Eng.,  Vol.  I.  p.  354. 


372  ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM. 

suspended  from  ordinances,  during  impenitence,  and  their  for- 
feiture of  their  own  personal  rights  does  not  involve  their 
unoffending  offspring  in  the  same  loss.  Such  individuals,  it 
must  also  be  observed,  are  guilty  of  aggravated  sin  in  not 
making  such  a  profession  in  truth  and  in  sincerity  of  heart. 
They  are  bound  to  do  so  by  every  motive ;  and  their  sin,  which 
will  be  visited  upon  their  own  souls,  does  not  free  them  from 
the  obligation  of  giving  to  their  children  the  advantages  they 
have  so  wickedly  neglected.  Their  guilt  cannot  disinherit 
their  children,  who  are  therefore  to  be  baptized. 

It  will  be  again  said,  that  such  an  extension  of  the  ordinance 
is  an  open  profanation  of  it  by  giving  it  to  such  unworthy 
persons.  But  this  objection  assumes  that  the  view  taken  of 
this  ordinance  by  the  objector  is  correct  and  that  it  is  given 
on  account  of  the  personal  holiness  of  the  parents,  and  is  a 
covenant  between  them  and  God.  But  it  has.  been  s'hown  that 
this  sacrament  is  given,  not  necessarily  on  account  of  the  per- 
sonal, but  only  in  view  of  the  federal  holiness  of  the  parents ; 
while  it  is  the  seal  of  God's  covenant,  which  He  has  chosen 
to  extend  to  the  children  of  all,  an  external  covenant  with 
Him;  and  which  does  not  in  the  case  of  children  imply  an 
explicit  ratification  of  the  covenant  on  their  part,  but  imposes 
this  as  a  duty  imperatively  binding  on  them  when  capable  of 
fulfilling  it,  with  the  promise  of  every  needful  help  in  its  dis- 
charge. To  administer,  therefore,  this  ordinance  to  the  chil- 
dren of  parents,  not  themselves  members  of  any  particular 
church,  though  members  of  the  Catholic  church,  is,  in  this 
view,  no  profanation  of  it,  nor  unworthy  of  that  munificent 
mercy,  which  extends  even  to  a  thousand  generations.  And 
it  will  never  do  to  frame  our  own  conceptions  of  the  divine 
institutes,  and  then  to  enforce  them  as  divine,  and  to  denounce 
all  others  as  profane.  Circumcision,  which  was  the  seal  of 
the  same  righteousness  by  faith,  of  Vi'hioh  baptism  is  the  seal, 
was  certainly  administered  by  positive  divine  requirements  to  all 
such  children ;  and  who  will  say  that  the  application  of  this 
seal  of  the  divine  mercy  to  the  same  subjects  now  is  profana- 
tion?*    What  infants  are  really  within  the  covenant  of  grace, 

*See  Rutherford's  Plea,  p.  177.  171,  168,  167,  179.  180,  181.  Ruther- 
ford's Due  Right  of  Presb.  Ch.  iv,  p.  262. 


ARTICI^ES  ON   BAPTISM.  373 

and  what  are  not,  we  cannot  tell.  God  chooses  some  who  are 
the  offspring  of  wicked  parents  and  rejects  some  sprung  from 
believing  parents,  in  whose  case  the  ordinance  was  profaned 
on  this  reasoning  of  this  objection;  and  our  only  inquiry, 
therefore,  is  as  to  the  purpose  and  will  of  God  in  this  His  own 
institution. 

Finally,  it  may  be  said  that  such  persons  may  not  be  within 
the  church  at  all  or  under  its  supervision.  Now,  in  this  case, 
Vvhere  the  parents  are  not  connected  with  any  congregation, 
not  resident  within  it,  or  known  to  it,  it  appears  plain  that  the 
officer  of  such  a  church  cannot  administer  this  ordinance  to 
their  children.  Because  while  such  children  may  be  entitled 
to  the  ordinance,  they  may  not  be  so,  and  they  may  not  be  so 
at  the  hands  of  this  particular  church,  which  can  take  no  over- 
sight whatever  of  them  or  in  any  way  discharge  the  duties 
which  as  a  church  she  is  under  obligation  to  render. 

Our  conclusion  then  is  that  baptism  may  be  lawfully  admin- 
istered to,  and  that  it  is  the  privilege  of,  the  children  of  such 
as  have  been  baptized,  or  who  are  adopted  by  such  as  have 
been  baptized;  but  that  it  cannot,  in  the  present  state  of 
Christendom,  be  given  by  any  particular  church,  to  any  such 
children  where  the  parents  are  not  in  connexion  with  that  con- 
gregation, or  known  to  it,  and  willing  to  allow  the  church  every 
opportunity  of  discharging  her  obligations  to  them,  in  the  way 
of  catechetical  and  other  instruction. 


ARTICLE  V. 

Infant    Baptism    Pi^eaded    From    the    Old    Testament 
Prophecies   and   Promises. 

Isaiah  52 :  15. 

So  shall  He  sprinkle  many  nations. 

We  are  again  invited  my  hearers,  by  the  return  of  this  occa- 
sion, to  consider  the  grounds  upon  which  our  church  has 
decided  that  "infants  descending  from  parents,  either  both  or 
but  one  of  them,  professing  faith  in  Christ  and  obedience  to 
Him,  are  in  that  respect  within  the  covenant  and  are  to  be 
baptized."  To  this  subject  your  attention  has  been  already, 
on  several  occasions,  particularly  directed.  You  were  made 
acquainted  with  the  undisputed  fact  that  God  did  Himself 
institute  in  His  church  the  membership  of  infants  and  did, 
during  the  lengthened  period  of  some  two  thousand  years, 
admit  them  into  it  by  an  outward  religious  ordinance.  It  was 
further  established  that  the  Church  of  God  under  the  old  and 
the  new  dispensations  is  one  and  the  same,  unchaneed  and 
unchangeable  in  its  essential  character,  in  its  foundation,  in  its 
principles,  in  its  benefits,  privileges  and  blessings;  and  differ- 
ing only  in  the  manner  in  which  these  blessings  have  been 
dispensed  and  in  the  degree  of  that  light  and  glory  with  which 
it  has  been  illumined.  In  consistency  with  this  view  it  was 
also  proved  that  what  circumcision  was  to  the  Jewish  church 
baptism  is  to  the  christian  church — that  the  latter  has  been 
substituted  for  the  former  as  a  seal  of  the  same  gracious  cove- 
nant and  of  that  righteousness  which  is  by  faith ;  and  that  just 
as  circumcision,  as  an  outward  rite  or  symbol,  was  adapted 
to  the  severity  of  the  law  and  subserved  other  valuable  ends, 
just  so  is  baptism  accordant  with  the  mild  and  gentler  spirit 
of  the  gospel.  It  was  in  this  way  made  apparent  that  the 
church  membership  of  infants  was  never  set  aside  by  God  or 
man — that  the  change  of  that  external  rite  by  which  this  privi- 
lege was  signified,  made  no  abrogation  of  the  privilege  itself 
or  of  that  covenant  interest  in  God's  favor  of  which  it  was  a 
sign,  and  that  therefore  the  membership  of  infants  in  the 
Church  of  God  must  continue  in  full  force  to  the  present  day. 


ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM.  375 

As  infants  are  still  within  God's  c<5venant — as  they  are  thus 
the  subjects  of  its  promises  and  its  gracious  provisions — and 
within  the  bosom  of  the  visible  church,  they  should  therefore 
be  received  into  that  membership  which  God  has  Himself  con- 
stituted. But  inasmuch  as  circumcision  as  a  seal  of  this  mem- 
bership has  been  removed  and  baptism  has  taken  its  place, 
children  must  be  received  into  church  membership  either  with 
baptism  or  without  it.  Not  without  it,  as  all  are  agreed,  and 
therefore  with  it,  as  all  must  of  necessity  admit. 

The  foundation  for  the  doctrine  of  infant  baptism  is  thus 
deep  laid  in  the  very  counsels  of  eternity.  It  is  part  and  parcel 
of  that  charter  on  which  the  church  relies.  It  is  consolidated 
in  that  rock  of  ages  on  which  this  glorious  fabric  rests  and 
from  which  she  rises  to  the  skies — the  temple  of  God  not  made 
with  hands,  eternal  as  the  heavens.  This  doctrine  is  the  result 
of  no  inferential  reasoning  drawn  from  a  few  isolated  texts. 
It  depends  upon  no  human  authority  or  the  doctrines,  canons, 
decisions  and  interpretations  of  men.  It  runs  parallel  with 
the  history  of  the  church.  It  is  found  entering  into  the  first 
and  earliest  constitution.  It  is  emblasoned  in  the  forefront 
from  the  days  of  Abraham  through  every  subsequent  dispen- 
sation. It  passes  down  with  her  as  a  precious  inheritance  in 
these  last  days  of  her  final  dispensation,  and  will  only  cease 
to  operate  when  all  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Adam  shall 
have  been  gathered  home  to  glory. 

In  the  truth  of  this  doctrine  therefore  we  wish  you  to  be 
well  established,  that  you  may  be  led  duly  to  appreciate  the 
solemn  responsibilities  and  the  high  privileges  with  which  it 
is  associated.  As,  therefore,  there  are  many  considerations 
which  give  strength  and  cogency  to  the  conclusion  to  which 
W'C  have  been  led,  we  shall  continue  from  time  to  time  to 
present  them  to  your  minds.  Before  coming  to  the  separate 
examination  of  the  New  Testament  there  is  still  one  source 
of  information  to  which  we  would  on  this  occasion  advert. 
It  might  be  expected  that  had  God  designed  the  abrogation 
under  the  New  Testament  economy  of  this  right  of  infants 
to  a  membership  in  the  church,  seeing  that  it  had  existed  and 
been  so  highly  prized  for  thousands  of  years,  there  would  be 
in  the  prophecies  which  relate  to  this  coming  period  a  distinct 


376  ARTICLES  ON"  BAPTISM. 

enunciation  of  such  a  purpose  on  the  part  of  God  with  such 
views  as  might  prepare  the  minds  of  His  people  for  the  com- 
ing change.  It  is  therefore  a  subject  of  very  legitimate 
inquiry — do  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament,  delivered 
as  they  were  by  various  persons  at  sundry  times  and  in  divers 
manners,  do  they  contain  any  such  declarations,  and  if  not 
what  is  their  general  tone  and  manner  as  bearing  upon  this 
important  subject?  Now,  in  reply  to  such  an  inquiry,  we 
must  contend  that  no  such  prospective  abrogation  of  this  right 
exists.  It  is  not,  so  far  as  we  know,  even  pretended  that  any 
such  exists.  On  the  other  hand,  were  it  intended  by  God 
that  the  privilege  and  duty  should  remain  under  the  new  as 
under  the  old  dispensation,  it  is  manifest  that  no  distinct  and 
formal  utterance  of  such  a  purpose  would  be  looked  for  by 
any  reasonable  mind.  We  should  rather  expect  these  prophe- 
cies and  promises  so  worded  as  to  imply  the  present  existence 
and  the  uninterrupted  continuance  of  the  membership  of 
infants  in  the  Church  of  God.  Now  this  is  found  to  be  actu- 
ally the  case.  We  do  find  just  such  allusions  and  declarations 
of  promises  as  would  have  been  anticipated  in  the  supposition 
that  no  change  was  contemplated  in  the  law  of  infant  church 
membership,  and  we  hence  conclude  that  no  such  change  was 
ever  contemplated  in  the  divine  counsels,  and  of  course  never 
came  out  in  the  divine  plans.  That  you  may  be  able  fully  to 
appreciate  the  weight  of  this  argument,  which  is  altogether 
ex  abitiidanti,  and  therefore  the  more  convincing,  let  me  bring 
to  your  view  some  of  the  prophecies  relating  to  the  kingdom 
of  Christ — that  is,  to  the  church  under  the  christian  dispen- 
sation : 

I.  And  first  we  would  refer  to  those  which  describe  this 
kingdom  as  national,  and  therefore  as  including,  by  fair  pre- 
sumption, infants  which  constitute  a  larger  proportion  of 
nations.  Thus,  in  Genesis  12:  3,  it  is  written  as  among  the 
promises  made  to  Abraham  and  his  seed:  "In  thee  shall  all 
the  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed."  Again,  in  chapter  26 :  4, 
this  promise  is  renewed  to  Isaac  in  these  words:  "In  thy  seed 
shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed."  In  like  manner 
it  was  repeated  to  Jacob,  the  next  successor  in  this  patriarchal 
line  of  true  believers:  "And  in  thee  and  thy  seed  shall  all  the 


ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM.  377 

families  of  the  earth  be  blessed."  (28:  14.)  Now  we  know 
that  a  part  of  this  blessing  was  the  membership  of  their  seed 
in  that  visible  church  of  which  they  were  constituted  the  rep- 
resentatives and  heads,  and  that  of  this  membership  circum- 
cision was  the  sign  and  seal.  And  since  these  promises  run 
on  with  undiminished  fulness  to  the  very  end  of  time  and  to 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  they  certainly  do  seem  to  imply 
the  continuance  of  this  privilege  and  blessing,  and  of  course 
of  some  external  ordinance  as  its  sacramental  sign.  If  Abra- 
ham and  his  seed  were  required  to  be  subjected  to  this  outward 
rite  as  a  seal  of  the  righteousness  which  is  by  faith;  and  if  we 
are  still  taught  to  cling  to  this  righteousness  as  our  only  hope 
and  ground  of  salvation,  most  assuredly  do  we  look  earnestly 
for  some  sign,  seal  and  pledge  by  which  it  may  be  brought 
home  to  us  and  to  our  seed,  and  this  we  will  rejoice  to  find  in 
baptism  until  we  can  see  that  testament  of  our  fathers  by 
which  our  children  disinherited  from  this  ancient  possession. 
Turn  again  to  Ps.  72:  11,  and  in  this  glowing  prophecy  of 
the  nature  of  Christ's  Church  read:  "Yea,  all  kings  shall  fall 
down  before  Him;  all  nations  shall  serve  Him;''  "all  nations 
shall  call  Him  blessed."  It  is  here  revealed  that  in  its  extend- 
ing glories  this  church  should  be  found  encircling  in  its  arms 
kings  and  their  subject  empires — and  that  in  that  period  of 
millennial  blessedness  this  should  be  universally  the  case.  In 
His  other  prophecies  (as  in  Is.  19:23,  25)  that  in  the  con- 
summation of  this  glorious  day  of  grace  whole  nations  should 
be  born  unto  God  and  together  with  Israel  be  joined  unto  the 
Lord.  As  nations  they  should  rally  round  the  christian 
standard — assume  the  badge  of  christian  discipleship — and  be 
known  and  distinguished  in  the  world.  They  would  be  thus 
set  apart  and  consecrated  to  God  by  His  proselyting  ordinance. 
The  Lord  would  become  their  God  and  they  His  people.  And 
the  anointing  oil  of  divine  grace,  flowing  out  in  copious 
showers,  would  descend  from  the  Head  to  the  members — 
from  the  fathers  to  the  children — and  unite  them  in  a  holy 
generation  sacred  to  the  Lord. 

This  national  view  of  the  gospel,  involving  as  it  does  the 
continued  recognition  of  the  covenant  privilege  of  infant 
church  membership,  is  implied  in  many  prophecies.    "Behold," 


378  ARTICI^ES  ON  BAPTISM. 

says  Isaiah  (55:  5),  "thou  shalt  call  a  nation  that  thou  know- 
est  not  and  nationis  that  knew  mot  thee  shall  run  unto  thee 
because  of  the  Lord  thy  God."  "The  nations,"  says  Jeremiah 
(-1  ult.),  "shall  bless  themselves  in  Him  and  in  Him  shall  they 
glory."  "And  there  was  given  him,"  says  Daniel,  "dominion 
and  glory  and  a  kingdom,  that  all  people,  nations  and  lan- 
guages should  serve  Him."  "And  many  nations,"  says  Micah, 
"shall  come  to  say,  come  and  let  us  go  up  to  the  mountain  of 
the  Lord."  "And  many  nations,"  says  Zechariah,  "shall  be 
joined  to  the  Lord  in  that  day  and  shall  be  my  people." 
(2:n.) 

In  full  conformity  with  these  views  we  find  our  Saviour 
declaring  to  the  Jews :  "Therefore  say  I  unto  you  the  kingdom 
of  God  shall  be  taken  from  you  and  given  to  a  nation  bringing 
forth  the  fruits  thereof."  (Matt.  21 :  43.)  And  in  like  man- 
ner is  the  millennial  glory  depicted  in  the  Book  of  Revelation 
by  the  representation  that  "the  kingdoms  of  this  world  are 
become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  His  Christ."  (Rev. 
11 :  15.)  The  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  then  be  profess- 
edly christian.  They  are  now  and  ever  have  been  the  Lord's, 
being  under  His  dominion  and  control,  but  they  shall  then 
become  His  in  a  spiritual  sense,  having  become  subject  to  the 
influences  of  the  gospel  and  being  characterized  by  its  spirit. 
Our  Lord  speaks  of  the  transference  of  the  privileges  of  the 
church  from  one  nation  to  another  nation.  Of  course  all  its 
essential  privileges  and  blessings  must  be  given  with  it,  of 
which  the  covenant  membership  and  privilege  of  infants  was 
one.  Neither  is  it  possible  for  these  prophecies  to  be  fulfilled 
on  the  principles  of  those  who  deny  the  existence  of  this  privi- 
lege. For  infants  comprise  one-half  of  the  population  of  any 
nation,  and  if  we  will  make  the  additional  subtraction  of  all 
the  ungodly,  then  it  never  has  been  true  that  many  nations 
have  joined  themselves  to  the  Lord — neither,  indeed,  could 
they  possibly  do  so.  On  the  whole,  therefore,  we  are  led  to 
conclude  that  inasmuch  as  this  right  of  infants  was  uniformly 
regarded  as  one  distinguishing  feature  of  the  Old  Testament 
dispensation  and  the  language  of  prophecy  when  speaking  of 
the  New  is  exactly  so  framed  as  we  should  expect  it  to  be. 


ARTICI^ES  ON  BAPTISM.  379 

supposing  the  privilege  to  be  perpetuated,  that  therefore  it  is 
so  continued  until  this  day. 

II.  But  there  is  another  class  of  prophetic  enunciations  in 
which  there  is  not  merely  a  general  and  implied  reference  to 
infants,  but  a  more  specific  and  distinct  recognition  of  their 
interest  in  the  church  and  kingdom  of  the  Messiah.  Of  this 
character  is  that  remarkable  declaration  contained  in  Ps.  102 : 
28 :  "The  children  of  thy  servants  shall  continue  and  their  seed 
shall  be  established  before  thee." 

On  hearing  these  words  the  first  inquiry  of  course  is — do 
they  really  apply  to  the  gospel  dispensation,  and  consequently 
to  the  Church  of  Christ  ?  And  that  they  do  is  put  beyond  con- 
troversy with  those  with  whom  we  have  now  to  do  by  the 
express  application  of  the  immediate  context,  and  of  course 
of  the  psalm  itself,  to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.*  The  servants 
here  spoken  of  are  the  servants  of  Christ.  "Thou  shalt  arise," 
says  the  Psalmist,  "and  have  mercy  upon  Zion;  for 
the  time  to  favour  her,  yea,  the  set  time,  is  come ;  for  thy 
servants  take  pleasure  in  her  stones  and  favor  the  dust 
thereof."  He  goes  on  to  say:  "When  the  people  are  gathered 
together  and  the  kingdoms  to  serve  the  Lord"  *  *  *  and  then 
follows  the  passage  applied  by  the  apostle  to  Christ,  in  which 
it  is  declared :  "But  thou  art  the  same  and  thy  years  shall  have 
no  end."  It  is  then  immediately  added :  "The  children  of 
thy  servants  shall  continue  and  their  seed  shall  be  established 
before  thee."  Manifestly,  therefore,  the  language  applies  to 
Christ's  real  or  professing  people.  And  of  such  it  is  affirmed 
that  their  children  shall  continue.  Shall  continue  how?  In 
what  other  sense  can  we  understand  the  words  than  as  refer- 
ring to  those  covenant  blessings  inherited  by  all  the  children 
of  God's  covenanted  people?  By  the  covenant  of  grace  as 
entered  into  with  Abraham  a  membership  in  the  Church  of 
God  and  an  outward  recognition  thereof  by  a  sacramental 
dedication  was  secured  to  all  his  seed  and  to  all  the  families 
of  the  earth.  This  covenanted  right  had  been  recognized  thus 
far,  and  the  Psalmist  declares  that  even  under  the  christian 
dispensation  the  children  of  God's  servants  should  continue 
in    the    enjoyment    of    this    everlasting   covenant    which    was 

*Heb.  1,  11,  12. 


380  ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM. 

ordered  in  all  things  and  sure.  Nay,  the  divine  penman  reit- 
erates the  assertion,  saying:  "And  their  seed,"  or  offspring, 
"shall  be  established  before  thee;"  that  is,  Christ  the  Infant 
seed  of  God's  covenanted  people  shall  be  confirmed  in  their 
covenant  relation  in  their  church  standing  and  membership 
"before  Christ;"  that  is,  in  His  kingdom  or  visible  church. 
The  church  is  thus  one  and  the  same  under  every  dispensation 
and  change  of  outward  forms.  And  it  is  one  of  the  essential 
laws  by  which  as  a  visible  and  organized  body  she  is  perpetu- 
ated in  the  world  that  the  infant  seed  of  all  who  have  been 
received  into  covenant  with  God  shall  be  in  like  manner 
regarded  as  members,  and  as  such  entitled  to  its  initiatory 
ordinance  and  to  all  the  benefits  and  blessings  associated  with 
the  watch  and  care  and  oversight  of  the  church. 

A  similar  passage  occurs  in  Isaiah  Go :  33,  where  it  is 
written :  "They  shall  not  labour  in  vain  nor  bring  forth  for 
trouble ;  for  they  are  the  seed  of  the  blessed  of  the  Lord  and 
their  offspring  with  them."  That  this  passage  also  refers  to 
the  church  under  the  gospel  dispensation  is  incontrovertible. 
Whether  it  refers  to  the  converted  Gentiles,  or  as  Baptists 
think  to  the  Jews  when  they  shall  be  brought  in  is  immaterial 
to  the  present  argument.  In  either  case  it  teaches  the  same 
glorious  truth  as  applicable  to  the  christian  church,  that  it  was 
to  be  founded  upon  the  everlasting  and  unchangeable  covenant 
and  that  therefore  the  pri\'ileges  appertaining  to  the  children 
of  covenanted  parents  under  the  patriarchal  and  subsequently 
under  the  Mosaic  dispensations  should  be  unalterably  perpetu- 
ated. So  that  whatever  benefits  and  blessings  accrued  to  the 
parents  from  being  within  this  covenant  should  attach  to  their 
offspring  also.  These  should  be  blessed  with  them  and  heirs 
together  of  the  same  promises,  hopes  and  heavenly  overtures. 
Whatever  economic  and  federal  advantages  are  associated 
with  a  membership  in  the  christian  church  to  which  is  com- 
mitted the  oracles,  the  promises  and  the  ordinances  of  God, 
these  belong  by  divine  and  inalienable  grant  not  only  to 
parents,  but  to  the  offspring  also  of  all  parents  who  are  them- 
selves within  the  covenant  by  a  previous  dedication  to  God. 

III.  But  in  the  third  place  we  may  point  to  further  prophetic 
declarations  in  which  there  seems  to  be  a  manifest  reference 


ARTICLES  OX    RAPTISM.  oSl 

not  only  to  the  fact  and  certainty  of  infant  church  member- 
ship under  the  christian  economy,  but  a  further  allusion  also 
to  baptism  in  its  true  and  only  scriptural  mode,  by  sprinkling. 
We  refer  you  to  Isaiah  52:  15,  the  words  of  our  text.  So 
clearly  does  this  refer  to  Christ  that  many  Jews  have  been  led 
by  it  to  embrace  Jesus  as  the  true  Messiah.  The  reference  is 
therefore  manifestly  to  the  christian  dispensation.  The  term 
sprinkle  seems  evidently  to  refer  to  those  Jewish  ceremonial 
purifications  which  were  performed  by  sprinkling  the  persons 
or  things  so  purified.  And  it  is  here  declared  that  as  these 
ceremonial  sprinklings  purified  the  Jewish  offenders,  so  should 
Christ  sprinkle  or  purify  many  nations.  This  cannot  mean 
that  He  will  bestow  a  saving  and  sanctifying  influence  upon 
many  nations  as  such,  and  yet  it  must  refer  to  some  holiness 
by  which  such  christian  nations  shall  be  distinguished.  It 
must  therefore  refer  to  that  external  relative  or  federal  holi- 
ness by  which  such  nations  may  be  set  apart  and  consecrated 
to  God  through  that  initiatory  ordinance  by  which  they  become 
His  visible  and  He  their  covenant-keeping  God.  And  as  this 
ordinance  is  baptism,  there  being  no  other,  it  is  plain  that  this 
is  the  christian  purification,  and  that  as  it  must  necessarily  be 
extended  to  infants  as  well  as  adults,  so  it  ought  to  be  admin- 
istered in  a  form  analogous  to  its  design  by  sprinkling  or  in 
the  form  of  rain,  and  thus  by  the  application  of  water  to  the 
person  and  not  by  immersion  or  dipping,  which  is  the  applica- 
tion of  the  person  to  the  water,  and  for  which  there  is  no 
authority  whatever  in  the  Word  of  God. 

Of  the  same  import  is  that  remarkable  passage  in  Zechariah 
(2:  11)  :  "And  many  nations  shall  be  joined  to  the  Lord  in 
that  day  and  shall  be  my  people."  Now  let  any  impartial 
reader  take  up  this  prophecy  in  view  of  the  circumstances 
under  which  it  was  given  and  put  an  interpretation  upon  it. 
The  prophet,  who  was  himself  a  Jew,  made  this  annunciation 
to  the  Jewish  nation.  This  nation  constituted  the  visible 
church  and  kingdom  of  God.  They  were  in  covenant  with 
God  and  they  looked  forward  by  faith  to  the  coming  glory 
of  the  Messiah's  kingdom,  when  this  covenant  should  be  illus- 
triously fulfilled  by  the  manifestation  of  the  great  Redeemer. 
Into   this   covenant   it   was   their   solemn   dvity   to   make    an 


383  ARTICLES  ON    BAPTISM. 

entrance  by  means  of  that  sign,  seal  and  pledge  which  God 
had  sacramentally  instituted.  Nor  was  this  obligation  resting 
upon  them  as  adults  merely.  It  extended  to  the  children  also 
whose  privilege  it  was  to  "be  joined  to  the  Lord"  and  thus  to 
become  "His  people." 

What  then  would  a  member  of  this  Jewish  church  in 
announcing  to  his  fellow  members  the  nature  of  the  Messiah's 
kingdom  and  of  the  church  under  Him — what  would  he  under- 
stand by  the  words  before  us?  What  could  either  he  or  his 
readers  possibly  imagine  as  its  meaning,  but  that  this  feature 
in  the  constitution  of  the  church  should  continue  and  be  glori- 
ously displayed  in  its  extension  to  many  nations  who  should 
be  there  joined  to  the  Lord  and  be  His  people?  That  children 
should  be  then  excluded  from  God's  covenant  and  from  all  the 
rights  they  had  hitherto  enjoyed  most  assuredly  they  never 
could  infer  from  this  declaration.  Nor  is  it  within  the  limits 
of  possibility  that  this  prophecy  ever  could  be  fulfilled  on  their 
principle  who  exclude  infants  from  the  Church  of  God,  and 
they  make  it  certain  that  no  nation,  or  the  bulk  of  it,  ever 
could  be  joined  to  the  Lord.  The  abandonment  of  this  prin- 
ciple or  of  possible  fulfillment  of  the  divine  word  is  there- 
fore imperatively  demanded.  And  for  ourselves  we  say  let 
God  be  true  though  every  human  system  should  be  found  base- 
less as  a  vision. 

This  passage  therefore  evidently  teaches  that  by  virtue  of 
His  mediation,  atonement  and  sufferings  Christ  should,  as  Mr. 
Scott  remarks,  "sprinkle  many  nations  with  His  atoning  blood 
and  by  the  pouring  out  of  His  spirit  as  purifying  water  of 
which  baptism  would  be  the  outward  and  visible  sign."  "He 
shall  sprinkle  many  nations,"  says  Matthew  Henry,  "by  the 
blood  of  sprinkling  applied  to  their  consciences — and  by  his 
heavenly  doctrine."  "He  shall  do  it  by  baptism,  which  is  the 
washing  of  the  body  with  pure  water.  So  that  this  promise 
had  its  accomplishment  when  Christ  sent  His  apostles  to  dis- 
ciple all  nations  by  baptizing  or  sprinkling  them." 

This  view  of  the  passage  is  not  a  little  confirmed  by  the 
recorded  fact  that  it  was  on  this  very  portion  of  scripture  the 
Ethiopian  Eunuch  was  meditating  when  Philip  was  sent  to  him 
in  the  desert,  and  most  probably  he  was  led  by  it  to  solicit 


ARTICLES  ON    BAPTISM.  383 

baptism,  which  was  administered  we  have  no  manner  of  doubt 
in  the  form  of  pouring  or  sprinkhng. 

It  is  apparent  from  these  passages  that  our  expectation  is 
not  disappointed.  We  don't  find  any  intimations  that  God's 
covenant  with  His  people  and  their  infant  offspring  upon 
which  the  church  had  hitherto  been  founded  should  be  abro- 
gated under  gospel  dispensation.  Such  a  declaration  it  is  not 
pretended  can  be  found.  On  the  other  hand,  we  do  find  the 
language  of  prophecy  every  where  moulded  in  perfect  con- 
formity with  this  existing  covenant — on  the  supposition  that  it 
should  continue  as  the  everlasting  basis  of  the  Church  of 
God — and  with  an  almost  explicit  enunciation  of  the  fact  that 
while  it  should  continue  it  should  be  outwardly  attested  and 
confirmed  by  the  outward  application  of  water  in  the  form  of 
sprinkling. 

Now  when  we  turn  to  the  New  Testament  we  will  find  a 
wonderful  harmony  between  its  language  and  the  prophetic 
annunciations.  Listen  to  the  words  of  Christ  Himself :  "And 
Jesus  took  a  little  child  and  set  him  by  Him,  and  said  unto 
them — Whosoever  shall  receive  this  child  in  my  name  receiveth 
me,  and  whosoever  receiveth  me  receiveth  Him  that  sent  me." 
(Luke  9:  47,  48.)  Christ  here  identifies  children  with  Him- 
self as  His — as  one  with  Him.  But  such  an  union  can  only 
exist  in  their  relation  to  His  mystical  body,  the  church ;  and  as 
baptism  is  the  ordinance  by  which  entrance  to  the  church  is 
given  little  children  therefore  are  here  declared  to  be  worthy 
partakers  of  this  rite.  On  another  occasion  He  more  explicitly 
teaches  the  same  truth.  (Mark  10:  14,  16.)  "But  when 
Jesus  saw  it  He  was  much  displeased  and  said  unto  them : 
Suffer  the  little  children  to  come  unto  me  and  forbid  them  not 
for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God — and  He  took  them  up  in 
His  arms  and  blessed  them."  "Therefore  I  say  unto  you,  says 
Christ  to  the  Jews  (Math.  21 :  43),  "the  kingdom  of  God  shall 
be  taken  from  you  and  given  to  a  nation  bringing  forth  the 
fruits  thereof."  And  thus  when  He  had  laid  the  deep  founda- 
tions of  the  church  in  His  death,  and  when  He  proclaimed  that 
charter  by  which  the  church  is  upheld  he  said :  "Go  ye  there- 
fore and  teach — that  is  disciple — all  nations,  baptizing  them  in 
the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the   Son  and  of  the  Holy 


384  ARTICLES   ON    BAPTISM. 

Ghost."  He  spoke  as  by  the  flesh  a  Jew,  and  to  Jews,  and 
commands  them  to  disciple  all  nations  and  to  bring  them  into 
covenant  with  Him.  And  as  up  to  this  moment  in  every 
period  of  the  church  when  any  parents  were  proselyted  their 
children  also  were  regarded  as  disciples  and  received  into  the 
church.  So  does  he  unequivocally  and  without  reservation 
command  them  to  go  and  disciple  all  nations. 

Hear  also  the  Apostle  Peter,  very  shortly  after  receiving 
this  divine  commission,  when  he  addressed  the  assembled  mul- 
titude as  at  Jerusalem :  "Repent  and  be  baptized  every  one  of 
you  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  for  the  remission  of  sins  *  *  * 
for  the  promise  is  unto  you  and  your  children  and  to  all  that 
are  afar  off,  even  as  many  as  the  Lord  our  God  shall  call." 
(Acts  2:  38,  39.)  Now  what  is  this  but  the  renewal  of  God's 
promise  to  Abraham :  "I  will  be  a  God  to  thee  and  to  thy  seed 
after  thee?"  Into  this  covenant  the  apostle  had  been  admitted 
as  an  infant  and  he  assures  us  that  this  covenant  right  con- 
tinues. Into  this  covenant  his  hearers  had  in  like  manner  been 
received  and  they  were  now  informed  that  under  the  christian 
economy  the  same  promise  alluded  sure  to  them  and  to  their 
children. 

Hear  also  the  Apostle  Paul  :*  "For  the  unbelieving  husband 
is  sanctified  by  the  wife"  (not  the  believing  wife,  as  many 
read  the  passage,  but  the  wife  who  is  in  covenant  with  God), 
"and  the  unbelieving  wife  is,"  in  like  manner,  "sanctified  by 
the  husband ;  else  were  children  unclean,"  or  beyond  the  cove- 
nant, "but  now  they  are  holy,"  or  in  a  covenant  relation  to 
God.  The  visible  church  exists  now  under  the  same  covenant 
as  before.  That  covenant  extends  precisely  to  the  same 
objects,  and  therefore  whenever  any  parent  has  been  received 
within  it  by  the  application  to  him  of  the  initiating  ordinance 
the  promise  is  to  him  and  to  his  children  also,  who  being  within 
the  covenant  ought  of  right  to  receive  its  seal. 

Follow  these  apostles  into  their  practice  and  we  are  con- 
firmed in  the  same  conclusion.  In  no  less  than  five  instances 
is  the  fact  recorded  that  their  families  were  included  with  the 
parents  as  in  virtue  of  their  faith  holy  unto  the  Lord.  Thus 
the  nobleman  at  Capernaum  is  said  to  have  believed  and  all 

*1  Cor.  7,  14. 


ARTICLES  ON   BAPTISM.  385 

his  house."  CorneHus  is  described  as  "one  that  feared  God 
with  all  his  house."f  They  "were  baptized  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord."  Thus  also  did  Paul  baptize  "the  household  of 
Stephanas."  (1  Cor.  1:  16.)  Thus  was  "Lydia  and  her 
household  baptized."  (x\cts  16:  1.").)  And  thus  also  when 
the  Philippian  jailer  was  converted,  "he  was  baptized — he  and 
all  his  straightway." 

The  conclusion  therefore  is,  we  think,  inevitable  that  unless 
the  opponents  of  infant  church  membership  can  shew  some 
positive  enactment  by  which  this  characteristic  principle  in  the 
constitution  of  the  Church  of  God  in  all  ages  and  under  both 
the  patriarchal  and  Mosaic  dispensations  has  been  abrogated — 
it  must  be  regarded  as  unquestionably  abiding  sure  to  us  and 
to  our  children  and  to  as  many  as  the  Lord  our  God  shall  call. 
And  as  no  such  enactment  is  pleaded,  we  may  well  stand  fast 
and  rejoice  as  the  seed  of  Abraham  according  to  the  gospel 
in  this  birthright  and  inheritance.  The  argument  now  pre- 
sented is  not  much  knov»^n  or  often  adverted  to,  but  to  our 
minds  it  carries  no  inconsiderable  weight.  We  rest  our  faith 
upon  God's  everlasting  covenant  and  immutable  purposes  and 
unchangeable  promises.  We  draw  our  inferences  from  the 
original  and  perpetuated  constitution  of  the  church  for  3,000 
years.  We  build  our  hopes  upon  the  whole  framework  of 
divine  prophecy  as  descriptive  of  the  gospel  church,  and  upon 
the  fulfillment  of  these  prophecies  in  the  conduct  of  our  Lord 
and  of  His  apostles  and  of  the  universal  church  in  all  ages. 

We  say  then  to  those  who  would  rob  our  children  of  their 
inheritance  and  defame  God's  dealings  with  His  church — 
"Stand  back.  Touch  not  the  ark  and  covenant  of  God.  Pro- 
fane not  God's  sanctuary  by  requiring  what  God  has  not 
required  or  excluding  whom  God  has  not  excluded.  Tell  not 
christian  parents  that  God  has  forgotten  to  make  provision 
for  their  children  or  expunge  their  title  to  an  inheritance  in 
Zion.  Hinder  them  not  as  they  would  crowd  His  temple  and 
press  around  His  altar  and  bring  their  little  ones  in  their  arms, 
but  suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  Him  and  forbid  them 
not  for,  as  the  Lord  Himself  has  assuredly  declared,  that  "of 
such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

*John  4,  53.  tActs   10,  2. 

2.5— Vol.  X. 


ARTICLE  VI. 

The  Doctrixe  of  Baptismal  Regeneration  Examined. 

John  3:5. 

Jesus  answered,  verily,  verily  I  say  unto  thee,  except  a  man  be  born 
of  water  and  of  the  spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Nothing  can  be  clearer  from  the  repeated  declaration  of  the 
sentiments  contained  in  this  passage,  than  that  regeneration, 
whatever  it  really  implies,  is  absolutely  and  universally  essential 
to  salvation.  Without  it  no  man  can  be  a  worthy  m^ember  of 
the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth,  or  as  it  shall  be  consummated  in 
heaven.  Without  controversy,  therefore,  this  is  the  most 
important  matter  which  can  possibly  engage  the  attention  of  a 
rational,  intelligent  and  immortal  mind.  Without  it  we  are 
without  God  and  without  hope  in  the  world,  under  condemna- 
tion and  exposed  to  everlasting  misery.  With  it  we  are 
adopted  into  God's  family,  are  made  His  children,  partake  of 
His  great  salvation,  and  are  constituted  heirs  with  Christ  to  an 
inheritance  of  glory.  What,  then,  is  regeneration,  and  how  is 
it  wTOUght  within  the  soul^ — who  are  the  regenerate,  and  by 
what  marks  or  evidence  may  they  be  distinguished  ? — these  are 
questions  involving  interests  as  precious  as  the  soul,  and 
destines  as  lasting  as  eternity. 

On  this  subject  there  are  various  opinions,  and  errors  of  the 
most  opposite  kind.  It  is  our  present  object,  however,  to  call 
your  attention  to  one  form  of  this  error  which  has  become 
extensively  prevalent,  and  for  whose  propagation  the  most 
strenuous  efforts  are  now  made.  It  is  taught  by  the  Romish 
church,  by  all  High-church  Episcopalians,  by  many  Baptists, 
and  perhaps  by  others,  that  baptism  is  not  only  the  sacrament  or 
sign  and  seal  of  regeneration,  but  that  it  is  regeneration  itself 
— ^that  all,  therefore,  who  are  baptized  must  be  and  are  regen- 
erated ; — that  no  other  regeneration  besides  this  or  subsequent 
to  it  is  to  be  either  expected  or  believed  in; — and  that  the  lan- 
guage of  our  Saviour  and  the  necessity  here  enjoined  has  no 
possible  reference  to  any  individuals  who  have  been  outwardly 
baotized.     That  I  mav  not  be  regarded  as  misrepresenting  the 


ARTICLES  ON    BAPTISM,  387 

views  of  those  who  hold  this  doctrine,  I  will  state  it  in  the 
words  of  Dr.  Pusey : 

"The  church  has  ever  taught  that  as  the  Israelites,  by  being 
i>aptized  unto  Moses  in  the  cloud  and  in  the  sea,  were  made  par- 
takers of  the  blessings  and  privileges  of  the  Mosaic  dispensa- 
tion, and  consequently  of  its  responsibilities,  so  the  blessings, 
privileges,  and  responsibilities  of  the  gospel  are  conferred  by 
God's  iholy  baptism,  anid,  O'f  course,  that  justification  by  faith 
has  its  only  proper  place  in  baptism.  The  baptism  unto  Moses 
being  the  shadow,  or  type ;  the  baptism  into  the  holy  and  ever- 
blessed  Trinity  being  ihe  reality  ;  the  first  was  the  schoolmaster, 
to  train  and  teach ;  the  second  Christ  Himself,  to  be  possessed 
and  enjoyed.  By  God's  baptism,  (I  am  speaking  of  the 
church's  teaching),  we  are  ingrafted  into  Christ ;  united  to  Him 
as  the  branch  is  united  to  the  vine ;  made  a  member  of  Christ ; 
created  anew ;  re-borm  from  above,  of  water  which  is  the 
womb ;  of  the  Spirit,  as  to  the  nature  of  the  birth,  as  well  as  the 
agent,  for  that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit.  The  Scrip- 
tures speak  of  this  new  creation  in  the  following  and  similar 
terms  : — an  existence  in  Christ ;  alive  unto  God  in  Christ  Jesus 
our  Lord ;  a  new  creature  in  Christ ;  having  been  created  in 
Christ,  we  are  in  Him  that  is  true,  /;/  His  Son  Jesus  Christ, 
chosen  in  Christ,  sealed  in  Christ,  sanctified  in  Christ;  as  in 
Adam  all  die,  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive.  And  in  rela- 
tion to  our  being,  or  existence  in  Christ,  expressions  such  as  the 
following  are  of  frequent  occurrence: — crucified  with  Christ, 
buried  with  Christ,  quickened  together  with  Christ,  risen  with 
Christ,  sitting  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ.  Now  the  church 
maintains  that  there  is  no  figure  in  all  this,  but  a  great,  an 
awful,  and  glorious  reality,  that  as  in  fact  we  are  made  sons 
of  man  by  physical  birth,  so  are  we  as  truly  and  actually  made 
sons  of  God  by  spiritual  birth,  and  that  this  birth  takes  place 
at  baptism,."— (Pp.  36,  27.)* 

How  far  this  doctrine  is  embraced  in  the  Episcopal  church 
in  this  country  I  cannot  undertake  to  say,  though  recent  events 
would  lead  us  to  fear  that  it  has  been  very  extensively  received. 

The  importance  of  this  question  cannot  be  over-estimated. 
Is  this  doctrine  true?  then  it  follows,  that  before  baptism  chil- 

*0n  "The  Present  Crisis." 


388  ARTICLES  ON    BAPTISM. 

dreti  and  adults  are  destitute  of  any  claim  to  the  character  of 
God's  dhildren,  or  of  any  title  to  an  inheritance  in  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  the  myriads  of  infants 
and  adults  also  who  die  unbaptized,  die  without  having  any 
right  to  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  that  inasmuch  as  they 
are  not  the  children  of  God  they  must  of  necessity  be  children 
of  wrath  and  this,  not  from  any  fault  of  their  own.  If  this 
doctrine  be  true  it  is  further  evident  that  all  who  are  members 
of  any  other  christian  denominations  than'  the  Romish  or  the 
Prelatical,  not  having  received  an  authorized  or  vaHd  baptism 
have  not  received  that  regeneration  which  such  an  administra- 
tion oonveys,  and  are,  in  like  manner,  excluded  from  the  king- 
dom of  God.  And  while  this  doctrine  involves  the  eternal 
destruction  not  only  of  the  millions  of  the  heathen  young  and 
old,  but  also  the  millions  who  constitute  the  reformed  churches, 
it  most  clearly  overthrows  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God  and 
teaches  for  doctrines  of  Goil  the  blasphemies  and  the  com- 
mandments of  men.  It  leads  to  the  utter  denial  of  original  sin. 
It  ascribes  to  man  the  full  power  of  saving  himself.  It  clearly 
overthrown^  all  grace.  It  robs  Christ  of  the  merit  of  His 
death  and  passion.  It  leads  to  the  denial  of  any  internal  regen- 
eration, and  to  a  reliance  for  salvation  upon  priests  and  sacra- 
ments. It  makes  baptism  more  essential  than  faith,  repentance, 
and  holiness,  since  without  it  even  those  who  possess  all  these, 
are  children  of  wrath.  It  subjects  the  Holy  Spirit  to  the  will 
of  men,  and  makes  salvation  depend  on  that  which  man  may  or 
may  not  choose  to  impart.  It  makes  regeneration  itself  a  per- 
fect nullity  since  it  teaches  us  to  believe  in  a  new  birth  which 
may  never  bring  forth  any  fruits  of  renewal.  It  destroys, 
therefore,  any  certainty  of  salvation  since  it  teaches  that  a  per- 
son may  be  regenerated,  justified  and  converted,  and  yet  be  still 
in  danger  of  everlasting  destruction.  According  to  this  doc- 
trine a  man  may  be  justified,  /.  c,  pardoned  and  accepted  of 
God,  and  yet  be  condemned  and  rejected  by  Him.  It  over- 
throwns  the  purpose  of  God  in  election  and  places  the  whole 
business  of  salvation  in  the  hands  of  men.  It  is  confessedly 
incompatible  with  indefectible  grace  and  the  perseverance  of 
the  saints.  It  annihilates  all  distinction  between  christians  and 
sinners,  since  it  makes  millions  regenerated  justified  and  holy 


ARTICLES  ON    BAPTISM.  389 

whose  lives  are  wicked,  and  abominable,  wihose  morals  are  cor- 
rupt and  whose  opinions  may  be  even  atheistical  or  anti-cliris- 
tian.  It  confoundis  the  means  and  the  end,  the  sign  and  the 
thing  signified.  And  it  leads  to  priestcraft,  superstition  and 
spiritual  despotism.  Such  are  the  con'sequences  which  must 
inevitably  follow  if  this  doctrine  be  received  as  true. 

It  was  declared  by  the  Council  of  Trent  that  "if  any  man 
deny  that  the  guilt  of  sin  is  remitted  by  the  grace  of  Christ  con- 
ferred in  baptism,  or  shall  even  assert  that  the  total  of  sin  is  not 
removed  but  only  shorn  (radi)  or  not  imparted,  let  him  be 
accursed."     (Session  V.) 

On  the  other  hand,  is  it,  as  we  believe,  untrue,  then  it  is  what 
the  Scriptures  call  "a  damnable  heresy,"  because  it  leads  men  to 
put  their  trust  in  what  is  false,  and  thus  exposes  them  to  that 
destruction  from  which  it  is  ineffectual  to  deliver.  It  turns 
away  the  attention  of  men  from  their  hearts  to  their  baptism, 
and  encourages  them  to  believe  that  however  conscious  they 
are  of  the  want  of  any  scriptural  feelings,  they  are  redeemed, 
regenerate,  and  heirs  of  the  kingdom  of  glory.  It  is,  therefore, 
anti-christian  and  subversive  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  It  must 
be  openly  gainsaid  and  resisted.  We  are  called  upon  to  con- 
tend earnestly  against  it  and  to  proclaim  to  all  who  will  hear 
our  warning,  its  dangerous  and  destructive  character. 

I  know  that  this  doctrine  is  based  upon  the  very  passage  I 
liave  selected,  but  the  apostle  has  himself  taught  us  that  even 
upon  the  foundation  of  God's  truth  men  may  build  wood,  hay 
and  stubble  which  shall  be  destroyed.  I  will,  therefore,  offer 
some  arguments  to  prove  that  such  an  interpretation  of  this 
verse  must  be  wrong,  and  then  offer  our  interpretation  of  the 
passage : 

I.  This  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration  is  false,  first,  be- 
cause Christ  Himself  never  baptized,  while  He  regenerated  many. 
That  Christ  never  baptized  is  expressly  declared  in  John  iv.  2, 
where  it  is  said  that  "Jesus  Himself  baptized  not,  but  His  dis- 
ciples." Christian  baptism  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of 
the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  was  not  instituted  until  after 
Christ's  death.  The  baptism  administered  by  the  disciples  was, 
like  that  of  John  the  Baptist,  preparatory  to  the  establishment 
of  the  christian  church.     Christian  baptism  was  not,  therefore, 


390  ARTICLES  ON   BAPTISM. 

administered  during  our  Lord's  ministry,  at  all  events  not  by 
Christ  Himself.  But  it  as  certain  that  many  were  regenerated 
during  that  period,  and  made  to  experience  the  power  of  God 
to  the  salvation  of  their  souls.  This  none  will  deny.  The 
woman  of  Samaria,  the  Canaanitisih  woman,  Mary  Magdalene, 
Mary  the  sister  of  Lazarus,  Lazarus  himself,  the  palsied  man 
whose  sins  were  forgiven,  the  thief  on  the  cross,  the  apostles, 
and  many  others,  will  arise  and  testify  to  the  power  and  effi- 
cacy of  the  Saviour's  teachings.  Christ,  therefore,  while  on 
earth  regenerated  without  baptism.  Christ  did  not  once  dur- 
ing all  the  period  of  His  ministry  administer  the  ordinance. 
He  carefully  abstained  from  doing  so.  He  communicated  all 
spiritual  hlessings  without,  and  independently  of,  baptism.. 
The  iniferemce,  theni,  is  unavoidable.  Baptism  is  neither  regen- 
eration nor  is  it  essential  to  regeneration..  And  the  discourse 
which  our  Saviour  held  with  Nicodemus  having  been  deliv- 
ered before  the  establishment  of  christian  baptism-,  and  while 
our  Lord  was  in  the  habitual  neglect  of  the  observance  of  this 
ordinance,  could  not  possibly  teach  that  Christ  considered  bap- 
tism to  be  regeneration  and  salvation. 

n.  Secondly,  this  doctrine  is  disposed  of  by  the  fact  that 
the  apostles  never  baptized  in  order  to  regenerate,  but  required 
evidence  of  regeneration  in  order  to  baptize.  When  Peter 
addressed  the  assembled  multitude  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  he 
said  repent  and  (then)  be  baptized  every  one  of  you.  But  time 
repentance  is  a  fruit  and  evidence  of  regeneration,  and  hence 
only  they  who  were  enabled  by  the  Holy  Spirit  gladly  to  receive 
this  word  were  baptized.  To  the  urgent  request  of  the  Ethiopian 
Eunuch  to  be  baptized  Philip  replied,  "if  thou  believeth  with  all 
thine  heart  thou  mayest."  Now,  since  genuine  and  living  faith 
is  the  fruit  and  evidence  of  regeneration,  since  "whosoever 
believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  is  born  of  God:"  "As  many 
as  received  Him  to  them  gave  He  power  to  become  the  sons  of 
God,  even  to  them  that  believed  in  His  name ;  who  were  born 
not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man ; 
but  of  God."  So,  also,  in  the  case  of  Lydia,  it  was  when  the 
Lord  had  opened  her  heart  to  attend  to  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel,  she  was  haptized.  The  Philippean  jailer  manifested 
deep  conviction  for  sin  and  expressed  his  confident  faith  in 


ARTICLES  ON    BAPTISM.  391 

Christ  before  he  was  baptized.     Cornelius  and  his  household 
were  baptized  on  the  avowed  ground  that  they  had  received  the 
Holy  Ghost.     "Can  any  man,"  says  the  apostle,  "forbid  water 
that  these  should  not  be  baptized  which  have  received  the  Holy 
Ghost  as  well  as  we  ?"    Such,  also,  was  the  case  with  the  Apos- 
tle Paul.*  Now  these  compose  all  the  cases  of  baptism,  as  admin- 
istered by  the  apostles,  of  which  any  particular  record  is  made. 
And  from  these  facts  the  general  inference  is  fairly  deduci- 
ble,  that  in  the  case  of  adults  baptism  is  only  to  be  administered 
to  those  who  give  creditable  evidence  of  having  been  regener- 
ated and  who  are  able  to  exercise  faith  upon  the  Son  of  God. 
Baptism,  therefore,  cannot  be  itself  regeneration,  nor  the  means 
of  imparting  it,  since  it  requires  this  in  order  to  its  proper  and 
valid  administration.     It  is  to  the  generate  the  sign  and  seal  of 
these  iblessings,  and  of  that  covenant  of  grace  by  which  all 
spiritual  blessings  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus  are  secured 
to  them.     It  imposes  upon  them  a  sacred  and  unchangeable 
obligation  to  cleave  with  purpose  of  heart  to  that   Saviour 
whose  grace  and  power  they  have  already  experienced;   to 
guard  against  the  guilt  of  sin,  seeing  their  hearts  have  been 
sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience  by  the  blood  of  Jesus;  "to 
guard  against  all  pollutioTi,  seeing  they  have  been  cleansed  with 
the  washing  of  regeneration;  to  cleave  in  love  to  the  people  of 
Christ;  and  to  hold  fast  the  profession  of  their  faith  to  the 
end."     And  in  like  manner  baptism  is  to  be  administered  to  the 
infant  seed  of  those  who  are  within  the  covenant  of  God,  that 
they  may  be  led  to  reflect  with  reverence  and  gratitude  on  the 
act  by  which  their  parents  accepted  of  Christ  in  their  name,  and 
dedicated  them  to  His  service ;  to  renew  in  their  own  souls  the 
acceptance  and  dedication ;  tO'  humble  themselves  for  their  vio- 
lation of  their  baptismal  engagements  ;  and  to  implore  the  influ- 
ence of  that  Holy  Spirit  w^hich  was  then  promised,  they  may 
for  the  time  to  come,  walk  consistently  with  the  privileges  and 
character  of  christians. 

III.  Thirdly,  this  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration  is 
unscriptural  because  the  Scriptures  teach  that  the  word  of  God, 
mid  not  baptism,  is  the  means  employed  by  God  in  accomplish- 
ing the  work  oi  regeneration.     "Ye  have  purified  your  souls 

*Acts  9th. 


392  x\RTICLES   ON    BAPTISM. 

in  obeying  the  truth  through  the  Spirit ;  being  born  again  not  of 
corruptiible  seed,  but  of  incorruptible,  by  the  word  of  God, 
which  liveth  and  abideth  for  ever."  (1  Pet.  1:22,  23.)  "I 
have  begotten  you,"  says  Paul,  addressing  those  veiy  Corin- 
thians whom  he  had  purposely  abstained  from  baptizing, 
"through. the  gospel."  (1  Cor.  4::15.)  The  Apostle  James, 
passing  by  baptism  and  all  other  secondary  causes,  declares 
that  "of  HIS  own  will  begat  he  us  by  the  word  of  truth,  that 
we  should  be  a  kind  of  first  fruits  of  His  creation."  The  Sov- 
ereignty of  God,  therefore,  is  the  only  cause  of  regeneration, 
and  His  word  the  only  instrument.  This  truth  is  also  very 
strongly  confirmed  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  who  say :  "You  hath 
He  quickened  who  were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sin.  But  God 
who  is  rich  in  mercy,  for  His  great  love  wherewith  He  loved 
us,  even  when  we  were  dead  in  our  sins,  hath  quickened  us 
together  with  Christ,  by  grace  are  ye  saved."  Here,  also,  the 
source  of  regeneration  is  declared  to  be  the  grace  O'f  God,  while 
throughout  the  entire  passage,  of  which  we  have  only  given  a 
part,  there  is  no  allusion  whatever  to  baptism.  The  same  thing 
might  be  shown  in  those  ancient  predictions  in  which  the  pro- 
duction of  this  change  is  promised  as  the  glorious  distinction  of 
the  gospen  dispensation.!  These  texts  need  no  comment. 
They  assert  the  truth  that  regeneration  is  effected  by  God  with- 
out, and  independently  of.  baptism  in  the  most  explicit  manner. 
The  apostle  thanks  God  that  he  baptized  none  of  the  Corin- 
thians except  Crispus  and  Gains,  and  yet  declares  that  many  of 
the  Corinthians  had  been  regenerated  through  the  instrumen- 
tality of  his  preaching.  In  addressing  the  same  church,  breth- 
ren, the  apostle  declares  that  "Christ  sent  him  not  to  baptize, 
but  to  preach  the  gospel."  But  will  any  one  be  bold  enough  to 
say  that  the  apostle  was  not  sent  by  Christ  to  regenerate  and 
convert  lost  and  polluted  souls?  Does  not  Christ  Himself  say. 
"I  send  thee  to  the  Gentiles,  to  open  their  eyes  and  to  turn  them 
from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God 
that  they  may  receive  forgiveness  of  sins  and  an  inheritance 
among  them  who  are  sanctified  by  faith  that  is  in  me."  On  the 
ground  of  the  doctrine  we  are  opposing  these  passages  as 
openly  and  palpably  contradictory,  the  one  declaring  that  Paul 

tEsek.  11,  19  ;  Jer.  31,  33,  32,  39,  40. 


ARTICLES   ON    BAPTISM.  393 

was  expressly  sent  to  baptize,  that  is,  to  regenerate,  and  the 
other  teaching  that  Paul  was  not  sent  to  baptize,  and,  therefore, 
to  regenerate.  This  doctrine,  then,  must  be  untrue.  Baptism 
is  not  regeneration  nor  essential  to  it.  Paul  was  commissioned 
to  preach  the  gospel  for  the  regeneration  of  men  and  not  to  be 
baptized.  The  gospel,  therefore,  and  not  baptism,  is  the  neces- 
sary means  of  regeneration. 

IV.  Fourthly,  the  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration  is 
unscriptural,  because  the  Scriptures  teach  that  where  regenera- 
tion has  taken  place  it  will  manifest  itself  in  a  holy  life  and 
conversation,  and  secure  for  all  its  partakers  a  crown  of  glory. 
''Whosoever  is  born  of  God  overcometh  the  world."  "Whoso- 
ever is  born  of  God  doth  not  commit  sin ;  for  His  seed  remain- 
eth  in  him ;  and  he  cannot  sin  because  he  is  born  of  God."  For 
"as  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  oi  God,  they  are  the  sons  of 
God."  "For  whom  he  did  foreknow,  he  also  did  predestinate 
to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  His  Son.  Moreover  whom 
He  did  predestinate,  them  He  also  called ;  and  whom  He  called 
them  He  also  justified;  and  whom  He  justified  them  He  also 
glorified."  He  that  is  born  of  God  desires  the  sincere  milk  of 
the  word  that  he  may  grow  thereby.  His  faith  works  'by  love 
and  impels  him  to  add  to  his  faith  every  christian  grace.  He 
will  thus  give  evidence  that  he  is  a  new  creature  by  walking, 
not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit.  And  however  Tie  may 
halt  and  stumble  by  the  way,  he  will  not  be  left  utterly  and 
finally  to  fall.  The  seed  that  is  in  him  is  incorruptible  and  it 
liveth  and  abideth  for  ever.  He  who  is  the  author  will  also 
be  the  finisher  of  his  faith,  so  that  having  been  justified  he 
shall  also  be  glorified. 

But  can  the  hardest  advocate  of  the  doctrine  we  oppose  pre- 
tend that  baptism  leads  to  such  results  as  these?  In  Roman 
Catholic  countries  the  whole  population  are  baptized  and  yet 
we  have  evidence  to  prove  that  a  great  proportion  of  them  are 
impenitent,  unconverted,  unsanctified,  unholy,  irreligious,  and 
even  infidel.  The  same  thing  is  true  of  the  population  included 
within  the  limits  of  the  church  of  England.  How  many,  or 
rather,  how  few  of  them  can,  in  the  judgment  of  chanty,  be 
regarded  as  truly  pious  persons.  Let  Dr.  Pusey  himself 
answer :  "The  instances,"  he  says,  "are  exceedingly  rare  in 


394  ARTICLES   ON    BAPTISM. 

the  present  day,  of  persons  who  have  been  faithful  to  baptismal 
grace ;  but  we  have  not  to  look  far  to  find  a  cause.  In  this 
fearful  and  all  but  universal  defection."*  It  thus  appears 
that  out  of  the  millio:ns  baptized  in  the  English  church,  the 
instances  of  those  wiho  manifest  the  certain  and  necessary  evi- 
dences of  regeneration,  are  exceedingly  rare ;  nay,  that  the 
defection  is  almost  universal,  the  number  of  such  persons  being 
an  infinitesimal  part  of  the  whole.  Appealing,  therefore,  to 
the  facts  in  the  case,  and  to  these  facts  as  attested  by  our  oppo- 
nenits  themselves,  we  must  conclude  that  baptism  is  not  regen- 
eration, since  in  almost  every  case  it  fails  to  bring  forth  the 
fruits  and  manifestations  of  regeneration.  It  is  found  almost 
universally  that  the  recipients  of  baptism  in  prelatic  churches 
have  been  and  are,  just  as  depraved,  unholy,  unsanctified  and 
unregenerate  as  those  who  have  been  baptized  at  all ;  while 
on  the  other  hand,  millions,  who  have  only  received  that  bap- 
tism wbich  these  exclusive  iniheritors  of  divine  grace,  profess 
to  regard  as  not  only  worthless  but  sinful,  are  ready  to  give  a 
reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  them,  and  a  proof  of  their  regen- 
eration by  the  Spirit  of  God,  to  every  man  that  asketh  it.  And 
will  any  sane  or  reasonable  mind  admit  that  baptism  whicb 
almost  universally  fails  to  result  in  holy  lives  is  regeneration, 
and  that  those  who  commit  sin  wilfully,  knowingly,  daily,  and 
with  the  most  unblushing  effrontery,  are  regenerate;  while  on 
the  other  band,  they  who-  have  never  received  prelatical  baptism 
but  who  do-  live  holily,  righteously  and  unblamably  in  the  world 
are  unregenerate  ?  It  is  impossible,  and  bence  we  are  brought 
by  another  argument  to  the  conclusion  that  baptism  is  not 
regeneration.  Otherwise  a  cause  may  exist  without  an  effect 
at  any  time  resulting  f  rom^  it ;  a  principle  may  imbue  the  mind 
which  never  influenced  it ;  a  character  may  be  enstamped  upon 
the  heart  which  is  only  evidenced  by  the  most  contradictory 
lineaments ;  and  multitudes  of  regenerated  persons  may  live  in 
sin  and  die  as  they  live,  and  from  first  to  last  pursue  one  unde- 
viating  course  of  open  ungodliness. 

V.  Fifthly,  this  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration  is  untrue 
because  the  Scriptures  teach  that  many  are  regenerated  without 
baptism.     It  was  an  old  error  among  the  Jews  that  sacraments 

*Present  Causes,  p.  14. 


ARTICLES  OX    RAPTISM.  395 

did  justify  and  save.  Hence  were  the  prophets  commanded  to 
instruct  them  that  it  was  a  vain  comfidence  and  a  false  opinion 
that  these  things  do  render  us  acceptable  unto  God ;  that  God 
did  not  institute  these  sacraments  to*  give  grace  or  justify,  but 
that  they  might  be  witnesses  of  the  grace  of  God  and  testi- 
monies that  God  doth  sanctify  and  justify,  by  and  through  that 
sacrifice  which  was  appointed  before  all  workls.f  In  like  man- 
ner do  we  find  the  apostles  laibouring  to  prove, — in  opposition 
to  this  Judaizing  tendency  to  put  confidence  in  sacraments  and 
forms, — that  without  any  observation  of  the  ceremonial  laws, 
without  works  of  any  kind,  including,  therefore,  the  observance 
of  sacraments,  a  man  is  justified,  sanctified,  purified  and  saved, 
only  by  the  mere  and  free  grace  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus,  "puri- 
fying our  hearts  by  faith."  "We  helieve,"  says  Peter,  "that 
through  the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  we  shall  he  saved 
even  as  they."  "Whosoever,"  says  John,  "believeth  that  Jesus 
is  Christ  is  born  of  God."  "Whosoever  shall  confess  that 
Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God,  God  dwelleth  in  him'  and  he  in  God." 
"If,"  says  Paul,  "thou  shalt  acknowledge  with  thy  mouth  the 
Lx>rd  Jesus  and  shall  helieve  in  thine  heart  that  God  raised 
Him  from  the  dead  thou  shalt  be  saved."  Salvation,  therefore, 
cometh  not  by,  in,  or  through,  the  sacraments.  By  grace  are 
we  saved,  through  faith,  and  that  not  of  ourselves  or  of  any 
sacraments  depending  upon  ourselves;  it  is  the  gift  of  God. 
Sacraments  are  added  as  testimonies  to  the  truth,  as  seals  of  the 
righteousness  that  comes  by  faith,  and  as  pledges  of  the 
increase  and  continuance  of  God's  heavenly  gifts.  They  are 
seals  and  assurances  unto  all  who  receive  them  of  the  grace  of 
God.  Our  fathers,  the  patriarchs,  the  prophets,  and  other  holy 
men  of  God  were  all  regenerated.  "To  Isreal  pertaineth  the 
adoption ;"  and  of  them  God  says,  "Ye  are  the  children  of  the 
Lord  your  God."  Deut.  14:1.  Abraham  was  justified  by 
faith,  and  David  knew  how^  to  pray  for  this  divine  blessing 
when  he  said,  "Wash  me  thoroughly  from  mine  iniquity  and 
cleanse  me  from  my  sin,  and  take  not  thy  Holy  Spirit  from 
me."  The  thief  upon^  the  cross  was  doubtless  also  regenerated 
and  yet  was  he  not  baptized,  nor  do  we  know  that  Stephen  was 

tSee  Is.  1,  11-14;  Jer.  6,  20;  Amos  5,  21,  22;  Ps.  1,  23;  Ps.  51,  16,  17; 
Mic.  6,  8. 


396  ARTICLES   ON    BAPTISM. 

ever  baptized  though  admitted  to  the  vision  of  glory  of  his 
beautihed  Redeemer.  To  say,  then,  that  baptism  is  regenera- 
tion is  to  contradict  the  testimony  of  God;  to  mahgn  and  abuse 
God's  ancient  church  and  people ;  to  subvert  the  foundation  of 
our  faith  and  to  lay  in  Zion  another  foundation  than  that  is 
laid. 

VI.  Sixthly,  the  Scriptures  also  teach  us  that  many  of  those 
who  received  the  sacrament  of  baptism  and  the  corresponding 
sacrament  of  circumcision,  even  at  the  hands  of  those  who  were 
divinely  authorized  to  administer  them,  were  not  regenerated. 

The  apostle  testifies  "that  all  our  fathers  were  baptized ;  and 
did  all  eat  of  one  spiritual  meat ;  and  did  all  drink  the  same 
spiritual  drink ;  'but  with  many  of  them  God  was  not  well 
pleased  for  they  were  overthrown  in  the  wilderness."  Now : 
"The  church,"  says  Dr.  Pusey,  "has  ever  taught  that  the  deliv- 
erance of  the  Israelites  from  Egyptian  bondage,  by  means  of 
the  Red  Sea,  is  a  type  and  figure  of  God's  holy  baptism."  But 
these  Israelites  were  in  number  six  hundred  thousand  men. 
And  yet  of  this  vast  number  only  two  were  permitted  to  reach 
the  promised  land.  With  the  remainder  God  "was  grieved 
forty  years;  and  their  carcasses  fell  in  the  wilderness  because 
He  had  sworn  in  His  wrath  that  they  should  not  enter  into  His 
rest."  Their  baptism,  therefore,  did  not  prevent  the  fall  of 
598,998  out  of  600, (lUO  and  the  baptism  of  the  church  of  Eng- 
land, we  have  seen,  accordhig  to  Dr.  Pusey  himself,  is  found  to 
be  but  very  little  more  efficacious.  Throughout  the  Old  Tes- 
tament those  Vv^ho  had  been  consecrated  to  God  by  circumcision 
which,  like  baptism,  was  a  seal  of  the  righeousness  which  is  by 
faith,  are  addressed  as  unconverted,  unregenerated  persons. 
"Plear,"  says  Isaiah,  "and  your  soul  shall  live"  (55:3).  "Wash 
you  make  you  clean,  put  away  the  evil  of  your  doings"  (1 :  IG). 
"O  Jerusalem,"  says  Jeremiah,  "wash  thine  heart  from  wicked- 
ness that  thou  mayest  be  saved"  (1:14).  Make  you  a  new 
heart  and  a  new  spirit,  for  why  will  you  die.  O,  house  of 
Israel,"  exclaims  Ezek.  (18-31).  (See  Zech.  13,  1;  Is. 
52.  15.)  It  is  in  the  same  language  these  Jews  were  addressed 
by  Peter,  Stephen,  and  the  other  apostles  of  our  Lord,  when 
pricked  in  their  hearts  they  cried  out,  "men  and  brethren,  what 
shall  we  do  to  be  saved?"     In  this  spirit  the  apostle  calls  the 


ARTICLES   ON    I'.APTISM.  397 

Judaizing  teachers  "the  concision,"  adding,  ''we  are  the  cir- 
cumcision who  worship  God  in  Spirit,  and  rejoice  in  Christ 
Jesus  and  have  mo  confidence  in  the  flesh."  "If  ye  were  Abra- 
ham's children,"  said  Christ,  "ye  would  do  the  works  of  Abra- 
ham,— ye  are  of  your  father  the  devil,  and  the  lusts  of  your 
father  ye  will  do." 

In  like  manner  do  we  find  that  numbers  who  received  chris- 
tian baptism  are  spoken  of  as  still  unregenerate.  The  Apostle 
Peter  explicitly  says  after  the  baptism  of  Simon  Magus,  "thou 
hast  neither  part  nor  lot  in  this  matter  for  thy  heart  is  not  right 
with  God."  Tbe  Apostle  John  says  of  others  who  had  been 
received  into  the  church  by  baptism,  "they  went  out  from  us 
but  they  were  not  of  us ;  for  if  they  had  been  of  us  they  would 
no  doubt  have  continued  with  us ;  but  the)'  went  out  that  they 
might  be  made  manifest  that  they  were  not  all  of  us."  The 
apostle  speak  of  others,  "of  whom,"  say  he,  "I  tell  you  even 
weeping  that  they  are  the  enemies  of  the  cross  of  Christ.  The 
same  apostle  supposes  that  a  baptized  woman  may  be  living  in 
pleasure  and  so  be  dead  while  she  lives."  Addressing  the  bap- 
tized member  of  the  church  the  same  apostle  says,  "awake  thou 
that  sleepeth  and  arise  from  the  dead  and  Christ  shall  give  thee 
light."  "My  little  children  of  whom  I  travail  in  birth  again 
till  Christ  be  found  in  you;  I  desire  to  be  present  with  you 
now  and  to  change  my  voice,  for  I  stand  in  doubt  of  you." 

It  is  thus  manifest  that,  according  to  Scripture,  baptism  is 
no  certain  evidence  of  regeneration ;  that  on  the  contrary,  bap- 
tized persons  may  be,  and  often  are,  unregenerated,  and  that 
the  language  of  your  Saviour  applies,  in  all  its  force  to  them, 
"marvel  not  that  I  said  unto  you  ye  must  be  born  again."  By 
making  baptism,  therefore,  regenerationi  we  lose  the  substance 
in  the  sign,  and  the  end  in  the  means ;  we  deceive  our  own 
souls  and  go  down  to  the  grave  with  a  lie  in  our  right  hands, 
and  without  that  regeneration  of  the  Spirit  and  in  the  heart 
without  which  we  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

VII.  We  are  thus  led  to  the  last  proof  we  shall  ofifer  of  the 
unscripturality  of  the  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration,  wbich 
is  this,  that  the  Scriptures  teach  us  that  baptism  is  only  the  sign 
and  seal  of  regeneration  and  not  regeneration  itself.  It  is  the 
sign  to  proclaim  its  necessity  and  reality;  a  seal  to  assure  us 


398  ARTICLES   ON    DAPTISM. 

that  by  faith  hi  Christ  it  may  he  obtained;  and  a  pledge  that  if 
the  recipient  of  baptism  asks  the  gracious  boon,  God  will 
bestow  upon  him  the  Holy  Spirit.  Such  is  the  view  given  of 
circumcision — "it  shall  be  a  token  of  the  covenant."  And 
"Abraham,"  says  the  apostle,  "received  the  sign  of  circum- 
cision, a  seal  of  the  righteousness  of  the  faith  which  he  iiad 
yet  being  uncircumcised."  Therefore,  does  the  apostle  argue 
that  "he  is  not  a  Jew  who  is  one  outwardly,"  by  having  received 
the  sacrament  of  circumcision  which  is  only  the  sign  and  seal 
of  inward  regeneration  and  righteousness,  "but  he  is  a  Jew,"  a 
true  Israelite,  born  again  of  the  Spirit,  "who  is  one  inwardly, 
and  circumcision,"  (that  is  what  it  signs  and  seals,)  "is  that  of 
the  heart,  in  the  Spirit  and  not  in  the  letter,  whose  praise  is  not 
of  men  but  of  God." 

But  we  are  further  taught  that  baptism  is  now  what  circum- 
cision was  formerly  having  taken  its  place  as  the  sign,  and  seal 
of  the  same  spiritual  blessings.  "In  Christ  also,"  says  the 
Apostle  Paul,  "ye  are  circumcised  with  the  circumcision  made 
without  hands,  in  putting  off  the  body  of  the  sins  of  the  flesh 
by  the  circumcision  of  Christ.  Buried  with  Him  in  baptism 
W'herein  also  ye  are  risen  with  Him  through  the  faith  of  the 
operation  of  God." 

In  further  proof  of  this  I  might  adduce  various  other  pas- 
sages. Thus,  for  instance,  Peter  says,  "the  like  figure  where- 
unto  even  baptism  doth  now  save  us ;  not  the  putting  away  the 
filth  of  the  flesh,  but  the  answer  of  a  good  conscience  toward 
God  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ."  Now,  here  the  apos- 
tle explicitly  declares  that  the  putting  away  the  filth  of  the 
flesh,  i.  e.,  baptism  by  water  does  not  save  us,  that  baptism  is 
only  a  token  or  figure  of  that  salvation  which  is  the  result  of 
faith  and  the  work  of  God.  In  like  manner  it  is  said,  "not  by 
works  of  righteousness  which  we  have  done,  but  according  to 
His  mercy  He  saved  us,  iby  the  washing  of  regeneration  and 
renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  It  may,  we  think,  be  shown 
that  the  expression  "washing"  here  used  is  symbolical,  not 
referring  to  baptism  at  all,  but  merely  illustrative  of  the  opera- 
tions of  regenerating  grace,  according  to  its  constant  use  in  the 
word  of  God.'''     But  even  supposing  that  it  does  refer  to  bap- 

*See  Ezek.  36,  25-:27  ;  Ps.  51.  2. 


ARTICLES   ON    BAPTISM.  399 

tism,  the  passage  clearly  teaches  that  baptism  alone  is  not 
regeneration  but  only  "the  zvashing  of  regeneration,"  that  is, 
the  sacramental  sign,  seal,  and  symbol  of  regeneration ;  and  that 
in  order  to  obtain  it  the  receiving  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  neces- 
sary in  addition  to  baptism.  It  teaches  us,  therefore,  that  we 
are  saved  by  the  sanctifying  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  work- 
ing in  the  heart  that  regeneration  of  which  baptism  is  the  out- 
ward sign.  The  two  things  are  connected  as  the  figure  and  the 
thing  figured,  but  not  as  the  cause  and  the  eflfect. 

This  leads  us  to  the  true  meaning  and  intent  of  the  passage 
from  which  we  have  discoursed.  Here,  also,  water  is  employed 
in  connexion  with  being  born  again,  but  they  are  neither  identi- 
fied, nor  is  the  one  said  to  be  the  means,  or  efficient  cause  of  the 
other.  Here,  also,  the  term  water  may  be  regarded  as  symboli- 
cal and  not  as  relating  to  baptism,  since  the  terms  water,  sprink- 
ling, washing,  are  employed  throughout  the  prophecies  to 
denote  the  purifying  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Both  the 
terms  water  and  wind  (Trvevfix)  translated  in  our  version 
Spirit,  may  be  thus  figurative,  our  Lord  referring  to  water  and 
wind  as  descriptive  of  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the 
spiritual  regeneration  of  the  heart.  Christ  Himself  immedi- 
ately explained  to  Nicodemus  what  He  meant  by  comparing 
these  blessings  to  wind;  and  in  the  following  chapter  He 
explains  the  figure  of  water,  saying,  "whosoever  drinketh  of 
the  water  that  I  shall  give  him,  shall  never  thirst,  hut  the  water 
that  I  shall  give  him  shall  be  in  him,  a  well  of  water  springing 
up  into  everlasting  life."  But  suppose  that  the  term  water 
does  refer  in  this  passage  to  baptism,  it  is  not  said  to  be 
regeneration,  nor  is  it  connected  wnth  it  as  either  a  cause  or  a 
necessary  means.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  declared  not  to  be  in 
itself  sufficient  to  regeneration  without  the  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  In  the  third  verse  the  water  is  not  alluded  to  at 
all,  "Jesus  said  unto  him,  verily,  verily  I  say  unto  thee,  except 
a  man  be  born  again  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  heaven."* 
Water,  therefore,  in  the  fifth  verse,  even  if  it  refers  to  baptism, 
refers  to  it,  not  as  regeneration  or  the  means  of  regeneration, 
but  only  as  the  figure,  emblem,  sign,  seal  and  sacrament  by 
vv-hich  this  blessing  is  held  forth  to  view. 

*John  iii. 


400  ARTICLES   ON   BAPTISM. 

Enough,  therefore,  has,  we  trust,  been  said  to  show  that  the 
doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration  is  heaven-wide  from  the 
teaching  of  Scripture.  We  have  also  shown  that  it  is  as  dan- 
gerous and)  destructive  as  it  is  unscriptural. 

Such,  then,  are  some  of  the  arguments  furnished  by  the 
Scripture  in  opposition  to  the  notion  that  baptism  is  the  spe- 
cially-appointed, and  certain  means  of  regeneration ;  and  on  the 
ground  of  which,  we  venture  positively  to  deny,  that  it  is  so. 
The  power  of  conferring  regeneration,  even  instrumentally,  is 
not  made  over  certainly  to  any  creature.  No  man,  no  minister, 
no  church  is  invested  with  this.  It  is  the  exclusive  prerogative 
of  God  to  determine  when,  and  by  what  means,  a  soul  shall  be 
born  again;  and  the  exercise  of  that  prerogative  He  retains 
exclusively  in  His  own  hand.  Regeneration,  therefore,  is  abso- 
lutely connected  with  the  use  of  nO'  external  ordinance,  or 
means,  whatever.  There  is  no  external  ordinance  or  means 
whatever,  by  the  use  of  which  we  can  certainly  ensure  it.  The 
Word  of  God  is  the  appointed,  and  only  appointed,  instrument 
for  effecting  it, — ^and,  God  be  praised,  frequently  by  means  of 
this  it  is  effected  ;  but  there  is  no  other  instrument  in  the  use 
of  which  we  are  even  warranted  at  all  to  expect  it.  Baptism 
may  possible  be  an  occasion  when  (as  I  have  shown)  it  may  be 
vouchsafed,  but  is  not  the  appointed  instrument,  much  less  the 
certain,  and  all-effectual  means  whereby  it  is  conveyed.  Regen- 
eration is  the  pre-requisite  for  baptism,  not  baptism  the  instru- 
mental cause  of  regeneration ;  and  to  be  baptized  without  the 
pre-requisite  is  mere  delusion  and  utter  folly.  Baptism,  under 
such  circumstances,  may  satisfy  men,  but  in  God's  sight  is  of 
no  import.  The  probability  is,  it  leaves  men  as  it  found  them, 
"in  the  gall  of  bitterness  and  the  bond  of  iniquity."  The  great 
question  is  not,  whether  we  have  been  baptized  or  not ;  but, 
whether  we  are  really  regenerate,  as  well  as  baptized,  or  not .-' 
Let  a  man  ask  himself  this  solemn  question :  Am  I  really,  as 
well  as  professedly,  a  child  of  God?  Born  of  water  I  certainly 
have  been,  but  am  I  as  certainly  bom  of  the  Spirit?  Does  the 
Spirit  experimentally  dwell  in  me?  Am  I  governed,  led,  con- 
trolled by  its  sacred,  sanctifying,  influence?  Are  its  fruits 
experienced,  and  apparent,  in  my  life,  character,  conversation? 
This,  I  say,  is  the  question,  the  vital,  all-determined  question. 


ARTICLES  ON   BAPTISM.  401 

Let  a  man  be  enabled  to  answer  this  satisfactorily,  and  he  may 
then,  if  he  will,  rejoice,  and  congratulate  himself  on  his  bap- 
tismal profession; — it  is  sound,  scriptural,  saving;  but  inde- 
pendently of  this,  consciously  devoid  of  such  witness  in  his 
favour  of  the  Spirit's  operations,  let  hinii  be  silent  about  his 
baptism,  and  discard  the  notion  of  baptismal  privileges;  he  is, 
despite  his  baptism  and  all  it  involves,  "without  part  or  lot  in 
the  matter"  of  salvation;  his  baptism  will  not  avert  the  wrath 
of  God.  neither  has  it  attached  to  him  a  particle  of  the  merits  of 
Christ's  finished  redemption,  or  of  that  "holiness  without  which 
no  man  shall  see  the  Lord ;"  he  is  yet,  in  the  fullest  and  most 
awful  sense  of  the  term,  unrcgenerate!  and,  dying  thus.  will, 
w^ithout  doubt,  everlastingly  perish. 


26— Vol.  X. 


ARTICLE  VII. 

The  Obligations  and  Benefits  of  Baptism. 

ExoD.  12  :26. 

What  mean  ye  by  this  service  ? 

A  thing  may  be  at  first  sight  very  unintelHgible  and  yet  when 
properly  understood  may  be  clear  and  comprehensible.  So 
are  all  types,  em.blems,  parables,  allegories,  similitudes  and  cere- 
monies. By  their  novelty  and  mystery  they  fix  the  attention 
so  as  to  gather  their  intended  meaning,  and  then  indeliibly 
impress  this  meaning,  wihen  properly  understood,  upon  the 
memory  and  the  heart.  And  this  was  evidently  God's  design 
in  their  original  appointmenit.  So  it  was  with  respect  to  the 
Old  Testiment  economy,  which  was  a  system  of  types  and 
shadows,  in  themselves,  inefficacious,  but  which  as  prophecies 
foretold  what  should  be  certainly  accomplished ; — as  signs, 
directed  the  understanding  and  the  faith  to  the  true  and  only 
ground  of  propitiation  and  redemption; — and  thus  served  us  as 
a  schoolmaster  to  lead  God's  people  to  Christ. 

And  so  it  is  also  now.  Two  typical  ceremonies  have  been 
admitted  into  the  service  of  the  christian  temple — Baptism,  and 
the  Supper  of  the  Lord.  Their  dissimilarity  in  this  respect, 
from  the  rest  of  the  christian  service,  deserves  an  attentive  con- 
sideration. It  plainly  indicates,  that  there  is  in  the  events  typi- 
fied by  them  some  distinguishing  feature,  wihich  has  rendered 
this  form  of  expression  suitable  or  needful  for  those  events 
especially.  Now  one  difference  between  such  a  inode  of 
expression  and  that  by  words,  is,  that  it  is  invariable  and  uni- 
versa!.  It  addresses  itself  alike  to  the  apprehension  of  all  ages, 
and  of  all  people.  Record  an  incident,  or  register  a  precept,  in 
terms  ever  so  definite,  still  the  change  of  language  necessary 
for  conveying  it  from  one  people  to  another, — nay,  the  change 
which  time  produces  even  in  the  original  language  in  which  it  is 
deposited,  (supposing  no  corruption  of  the  document  to  take 
place.) — renders  such  a  record  more  or  less  liable  to  misrepre- 
sentation although  it  doubtless  possesses,  in  other  points  of 
view,  great  advantages  over  a  symbolical  representation.  To 
unicultivatecl  minds,  moreover,  a  symbolical  rite  is  more  impres- 


ARTICLES  ON    P.APTISM.  403 

sive  and  attractive  and  often  more  intelligible ;  and  it  should  ibe 
recollected,  that  although  the  Gospel  is  adapted  and  addressed 
to  a  more  enlightened  state  of  society  than  was  the  Law,  it 
recognizes,  and  has  provided  for,  those  portions  of  an  enlight- 
ened society,  which  fall  short  in  most  if  not  in  all  christian 
countries  of  the  preparatory  capacity  for  the  whole  sum  of 
Gospel  truth.  Whilst,  therefore,  to  the  christian  volume  was 
com'mitted  the  whole  of  the  Gospel  revelation,  it  was  doubtless 
a  wise  and  merciful  provision  to  select  the  two  most  important 
features  for  the  record  of  type  and  symbol,  as  well  as  of  lan- 
guage. T'he  doctrines  of  Regeneration  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
of  Atonement  by  the  death  of  Christ,  follov/ed  by  His  spiritual 
indwelling  in  us — these  form  the  epitome  oi  Christianity. 
Extracted  from  the  full  record  of  Revelation,  translated,  as  it 
were,  into  symbol  and  type,  and  so,  engrafted  on  the  christian 
service,  their  eminent  importance  was  thereby  signified,  and  a 
preservative  furnished  against  our  overlooking  either  the  mean- 
ing or  the  importance  designed  to  be  attached  to  the  correspond- 
ing passages  of  the  sacred  volume. 

Permit  me,  then,  my  friends,  to  ask  yoit,  have  you  ever  con- 
sidered why  you  bring  your  children  to  be  baptized?  What  are 
the  reasons  and  designs  of  baptism  ?  What  are  the  professions 
it  implies  ?  What  are  the  obligations  it  imposes  both  upon  the 
parent  and  the  child?  And  what  are  the  benefits  to  be  looked 
for  and  expected  by  both  parents  and  children?  Let  me  call 
your  attention  very  briefly  to  each  of  these  points : 

And  first  as  to  the  reason  why  we  do  bring  our  children  to  be 
baptized^ — this  is  to  be  found  only  in  the  authority  and  word  of 
God.  It  is  not  enough  that  it  is  the  custom  of  the  country,  or 
the  rule  and  practice  of  all  christian  churches  except  one,  thus 
to  consecrate  them  to  God;  much  less  because  it  is  respectable, 
or  because  it  is  made  the  occasion  of  first  publicly  announcing 
their  names.  None  of  these  reasons  would  excuse  the  form 
of  this  ceremony  from  the  charge  of  an  idle  and  profane  cere- 
mony, and  a  most  unwarrantable  mockery  of  God.  Oh,  no, 
baptism  is  an  ordinance  of  a  much  more  solemn  nature,  and  of 
a  much  higher  obligation  than  any  such  views  would  imply.  It 
is  a  service  which  we  perfonn  in  obedience  to  the  command  of 
heaven.     It  was  appointed  by  God — as  it  regards  its  essential 


404  ARTICLES  ON    BAPTISM. 

principle  aod  character, — probably  at  the  very  beginning  of  the 
world,  since  we  find  on  ei'ery  occasion,  that  their  seed  or  off- 
spring are  included  with  the  parents  in  His  covenants  of  mercy, 
and  His  provisionis  of  grace  and  salvation.  To  Abraham  as  the 
head  of  the  Gentile  church  and  the  father  of  all  the  faithful, 
the  law  of  infant  dedication  was  given  under  a  form  adapted 
to  the  comdition  and  prospects  of  the  church  at  that  time,  which 
form  was  administered  to  infants  "as  a  seal  of  the  righteous- 
ness wihich  is  by  faith."  And  thus  it  is  now.  The  form  of  cir- 
cumcision having  accomplished  its  purposes,  baptism,  wliich  is 
the  christian  circumcision,  is  still  to  be  administered  for  the 
same  purpose,  and  in  order  to  secure  the  same  benefits  to  GoTs 
professing  people  and  to  their  infant  offspring  in  the  christian 
church,  since  the  kingdom  of  Christ  is  as  certainly  composed  of 
children  as  was  the  church  under  its  previous  dispensations. 
Christ,  therefore,  instituted  baptism,  among  other  purposes,  to 
ibe  the  sign  and  means  of  our  admission  into  His  visible  church 
and  our  professing  to  receive  His  religion,  to-  become  His  dis- 
ciples, and  to  live  in  the  observance  of  His  ordinances.  You 
find  that  after  His  resurrection  and  just  before  He  ascended 
into  heaven,  Christ  gave  this  commission!  untO'  His  disciples, 
"go  ye  and  teach  (or  as  the  word  means,  make  disciples  of )  all 
nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the 
Son.  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things 
whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you."  It  is,  therefore,  by  the 
authority  of  Christ  that  baptism  takes  the  place  of  circumcision 
as  the  initiatory  ordinance  of  the  Church  of  God.  And  since 
He  requires  that  all  nations  should  be  discipled  to  Him,  only 
substituting  the  gospel  for  the  law,  and.  His  own-  ordinances  for 
the  former  ceremonies,  we  must  conclude  that  baptism  is  to  be 
administered  under  the  same  rule  of  infant  dedication,  with 
circumcision.  And  with  this  conclusion  the  declarations  an'l 
practice  of  the  apostles  and  of  the  early  and  pure  church 
unquestionably  agree.  There  is  no  curtailment  of  the  privi- 
leges of  parents  and  of  children  under  the  christian  dispensa- 
tion. The  promise  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  whose  gracious  influ- 
ence is  typified  by  the  waters  of  baptism,  is  not  only  unto  us 
but  to  our  children,  to  the  very  end  of  time,  and  beyond  the 
power  of  man  to  reach,  abrogate  or  to  annul  it. 


ARTICLES  ON    HAPTISM.  405 

This,  then,  is  the  reason  of  infant  baptism — the  authority 
and  command  of  Christ  and  of  God,  as  made  knovvni  through 
His  church  in  all  ages. 

What,  then,  did  Christ  mean  to  represent  'by  baptism?  The 
only  element  employed  in  this  ordinance  is  water.  Now,  as  this 
is  the  great  means  of  cleansing  and  the  great  source  of  purifica- 
tion so  is  it,  when  employed  in  this  ordinance,  designed  to 
represent  the  washing  of  regeneration  and  the  renewing  influ- 
ences of  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  wihich  alone  any  man  can  be  born 
again  and  without  which  no  man  can  enter  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  Now,  this  washing  from  sin  is  twofold.  First,  there 
is  the  washing  from  the  guilt  of  sin  by  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
"the  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world." 
Secondly,  there  is  washing  from  the  pollution  and  depravity  of 
sin,  from  the  love  and  practice  of  it,  from  evil  dispositions  and 
habits,  and  from  all  uncleanness  ami  inordinate  affections. 
This  is  effected  by  the  sanctifying  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of 
God,  who  is,  therefore,  said  to  "change  our  hearts,"  to  regen- 
erate us,"  "to  renew  us  in  the  spirit  of  our  minds,"  and  "to 
make  us  new  creatures."  Now,  both  these  kinds  of  washing 
are  absolutely  necessary  to  the  salvation  of  our  souls ;  and  both 
are  represented  by  the  figure  of  baptism.  But  more  especially 
is  baptism  intended  to  hold  forth,  proclaim,  and  impress  upon 
our  minds  the  absolute  necessity,  the  infinite  importance,  the 
practicability,  and  the  source  of  this  purification  of  our  hearts 
and  lives  by  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit ; — while  the  Lord's 
Supper  is  designed  pre-eminently  to  teach  the  value  and  effi- 
cacy of  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  "Baptism,"  therefore  says 
our  Confession  of  Faith,  "is  a  sacrament  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, ordained  by  Jesus  Christ,  not  only  for  the  solemn  adanis- 
sion  of  the  party  haptized  into  the  visible  church,  but  also  to  be 
unto  him  a  sign  an<l  seal  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  of  his 
ingrafting  into  Christ,  or  regeneration,  of  remission  of  sins,  and 
of  his  giving  up  unto  God.  through  Jesus  Christ,  to  walk  in 
newness  of  life ;  which  sacrament  is,  by  Christ's  own  appoint- 
ment, to  be  continued  in  His  church  until  the  end  of  the  world." 

What,  then,  we  proceed  to  ask,  is  the  nature  of  that  profes- 
sion which  is  made  in  baptism,  made  on  the  part  of  the  parent 
as  the  expression  of  his  own  view  and  also  on  behalf  and  in  the 


406  ARTICLES   ON    BAPTISM. 

name  of  his  child  ?     That  such  a  profession  is  impHed  in  bap- 
tism is  most  evident,  since  the  words  are  sometimes  used  inter- 
changeably; since  a  willingness  to  confess  Christ  before  men 
is  made  in  Scripture  the  condition  of  'bestowing  baptism;  and 
since  a  personal  profession  on  the  part  of  adults,  and  such  a 
relative  profession  on  the  part  of  their  representative  in  the 
case  of  infants,  have  always  been  associated  with  baptism  in 
every  age  of  the  church.     And  one  reason  why  baptism  as  a 
personal   rule   is   only   properly,  administered   publicly   in   the 
church,  is  that  thereby  not  only  the  individuals  immediately 
concerned,  but  all  others  who  may  be  present,  may  be  put  in 
remembrance  of  their  own  profession  made  for  them  to  God 
in  infancy.     On  every  such  occasion  we  are  all  called  upon  to 
acknowledge,  ratify  and  in  effect  renew  our  baptismal  engage- 
ment.    This  is  a  very  solemn  consideration  of  which  many  are 
altogether  thoughtless,  and  on  which  I  entreat  }^u  to  reflect. 
This  throws  around  the  transaction;  a  solemnity,  a  dignity  and 
an  importance,  worthy  of  the  subject  of  it;  of  the  place,  of  the 
time,  of  the  assembly,  and  of  that  great  and  glorious  God  w-ho, 
Avhile  the  heaven  of  heavens  cannot  contain  His  glory,  conde- 
scends to  witness  and  to  co-operate  in  such  scenes.    Yea  '  while 
many,  like  the  disciples,  can  see  nothing  but  confusion  and  for- 
mality in  the  whole  transaction,  God  crowns  it  with  glory  and 
honor,  while  angels  hovering  round,  gaze  upon  it  with  delight 
as  one  part  of  the  mystery  of  godliness.     The  young  immortal 
is  here  made  a  spectacle  to  God,  to^  angels  and  to  men;  stam^ped 
with  the  impress  of  heaven,  enrobed  in  the  garments  of  salva- 
tion; enrolled   among  the   citizens  of  the  heavenly  common- 
wealth ;  clothed  as  it  were  in  the  panoply  of  God ;  and  thus 
equipped,  prepared  for  doing  battle  against  principalities  and 
powers  against  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  Devil.     The  very 
weakness,  therefore,  and  helplessness  of  the  children,  who  are 
presented  in  baptism,  their  terror  and  alarms,  and  their  utter 
inability  to  appreciate  or   reciprocate  the  divine  mercy,   only 
reflect  all  the  more  brightly  the  lustre  of  His  divine  compas- 
sion v^■hose  tender  mercies  are  over  all  His  other  works  and  who 
is  not  willing  that  one  of  the  little  ones  should  perish. 

First,  then,  profession  is  here  made  of  faith  in  Christ.     We 
are  here  made  to  declare  that  we  heartily  embrace  His  religion 


ARTICLES  ON    BAPTISM.  407 

and  receive  Him  as  our  Saviour ;  that  we  sincerely  repent  of 
our  sins  and  seek  salvation  by  Christ  as  ''the  one  thing  need- 
ful ;"  and  that  it  is  our  full  determination  by  the  grace  of  God, 
to  seek  the  same  for  our  beloved  offspring,  and  as  far  as  is  in 
our  power  to  induce  them  to  do  so  for  themselves.  On  these 
grounds  they  are  publicly  entered  as  members  of  the  Church  of 
Christ,  and  while  presented  to  receive  at  the  minister's  hands 
the  outward  and  visible  sign  of  washing  with  water  in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  all 
present  unite  in  imploring  of  Christ  Himself  the  inward  and 
spiritual  grace,  that  of  His  bounteous  mercy  He  will  grant  to 
our  children  that  thing  which  by  nature  they  cannot  have ;  and 
that  they  may,  therefore,  be  baptized  not  only  with  water,  but 
also  with  the  Holy  Ghost. 

But,  secondly,  in  ibaptism  a  profession  is  made  of  belief  in  all 
the  great  leading  and  peculiar  doctrines  of  the  christian  reli- 
gion,— those,  I  mean  especially,  respecting  the  fallen  and 
depraved  state  of  man,  redemption  by  God  the  Son,  and  sancti- 
fication  by  God  the  Holy  Ghost.  For  why  is  baptism  appointed 
at  all  ?  Why  is  it  that  not  merely  persons  who  have  grown  up 
in  a  heathen,  or  false  religion,  or  have  committed  many  actual 
sins,  but  that  infant  children,  and  even  those  of  christian 
parents,  should  be  baptized  and  thus  significantly  washed  with 
water?  For  what  other  reason  can  it  be  than  to  show  that  ivc 
all  possess,  and  that  our  offspring  derive  from  us,  a  corrupt  and 
evil  nature ;  and  that  they  need  to  be  cleansed  from  this  deprav- 
ity, and  from  the  guilt  that  inseparably  accompanies  it,  by 
spiritual  generation,  by  "sanctification  of  the  Spirit,''  and  by 
"the  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  Jesus." 

Finally,  in  baptism  you  consecrate  and  devote  your  children 
to  God — the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  their  Creator, 
Redeemer  and  Sanctifier,  that  they  may  live  to  His  honor  and 
glory  in  the  world.  This  is  signified  by  the  child  being  bap- 
tized in  the  name  of  each  of  the  divine  persons  in  the  glorious 
Godhead.  And  thus  has  God  made  the  full,  explicit,  and  most 
open  belief  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  the  very  gate  of  Zion, 
the  first  principle  of  the  oracles  of  truth,  the  very  sign  and 
badge  of  initiation  into  His  heavenly  commonwealth,  and  the 
most  solemn  and  bounden  profession^  to  be  made  by  every  one 


408  ARTICLES  ON   BAPTISM. 

who  would  ibecome  partaker  of  the  merits  of  Christ's  death 
and  passion,  and  of  that  inheritance  which  He  has  purchased 
with  His  own  blood. 

When,  therefore,  you  present  your  children  to  God  in  bap- 
tism, you  voluntarily  recognize  the  truth  of  these  doctrines, 
and  the  necessity  and  reasonableness  of  those  obligations  wbich 
arise  out  of  them,  and  are  enforced  by  them.  You  are  again 
brought  under  a  solemn  engagement  to  comply  with  these  obli- 
gations yourselves,  and  you  are  solemnly  bound  in  the  presence 
of  God,  to  train  up  your  children  to  lead  a  godly  and  a  chris- 
tian life,  that  they  shall  not  grow  up  uninstructed  in  the  faith 
of  Christ,  and  unadmonished  of  their  duty,  but  that  by  precept, 
by  example,  by  solemn  prayers  for  them  and  with  them,  by 
admonition,  by  good  and  scriptural  discipline,  not  sparing  the 
rod,  when  necessary,  lest  you  destroy  their  souls ; — ^and  by 
every  other  means  in  your  power,  you  will  endeavor  that  they 
may  know  and  fear  God,  may  believe  and  love  the  Lord  Jesus ; 
and  may  lead  a  sober,  and  righteous  and  godly  life.  T'hese 
duties,  be  it  rememibered,  do  not  arise  out  of  baptism  nor  are 
they  created  by  it.  They  arise  out  of  our  condition  as  fallen 
and  guilty  creatures ; — out  of  God's  plan  of  Sovereign  mercy 
devised  for  our  redemption!;  and  out  of  our  relative  position 
as  parents.  But  in  ba/ytism  you  are  made  to  attest  their  exist- 
ence; to  acknowledge  them  ;  and  to  confess  your  obligation  to 
discharge  them.  It  is,  therefore,  no  light  or  trifling  thing  for 
a  parent  to  bring  his  child  that  he  may  dedicate  him  to  the 
Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  one  of  the  most  solemn  and 
awful  scenes  on  this  side  of  the  grave,  and  involves  everlasting 
destinies  beyond  it.  And  for  our  parents  to  do  so,  and  then 
think  no  more  or  but  lightly  of  the  whole  matter,  forgetting 
the  inborn  tendency  of  their  child  to  folly,  sin,  and  self-willed 
impenitence,  and  using  no  means  to  lead  them  to  early  and 
experimental  piety,  is  an  impiety  for  which  God  most  assuredl}' 
will  not  hold  them  guiltless  on  the  day  of  judgment.  But  if  so. 
what,  then,  is  the  guilt  of  those  parents  who  live  in  open  and 
manifest  neglect  of  those  truths,  and  of  those  duties,  to  which 
they  have  been  mercifully  committed  by  God  in  their  own  bap- 
tism, and  voluntarily  recommitted  by  the  presentation  of  their 
own  children  to  God?     And  what  is  the  guilt  of  those,  too,  who 


ARTICLES   ON    IJAPTISM.  409 

live  in  open  defiance  of  God's  just  and  merciful  claims  upon 
themselves,  and  of  His  most  gracious  provision;  for  their  chil- 
dren, and  neither  make  a  profession  for  themselves  or  for  their 
(Children  ?  Surely  they  cannot  escape  who  thus  not  only  neglect, 
but  openly  despise  and  contemn  the  great  salvationt,  tread  under 
foot  the  Son  of  God,  and  have  counted  the  blood  of  the  cove- 
nant wherewith  they  were  sanctified  an  unholy  thing,  and  thus 
do  despite  to  the  Spirit  of  grace?  God  Himself  means  of  such 
persons  that  "he  who  thus  defiles  the  temple  of  God  him  will 
God  destroy."  Be  admoniished,  then,  ye  that  look  on  as  if  you 
had  nothing  to  do  with  this  holy  and  sacred  ordinance.  You 
have  to  do  with  it  every  one  O'f  you,  and  as  surely  as  you  live 
and  die  as  you  are  now  living  and  very  likely  will  die,  you  will 
find  that  "it  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  intO'  the  hands  of  the  liv- 
ing God." 

What,  then,  let  us  inquire  in  the  last  place,  are  the  benefits 
to  be  sought  and  expected  in  baptism?  By  baptism  your  chil- 
dren are  introduced  into  and  brought  up  within  the  visible 
Church  of  Christ,  "the  holy,  Catholic  Church ;" — ^are  accus- 
tomed to  hear  the  gospel  preached  tO'  them  as  the  members  of 
that  church; — ^^are  habituated  to  consider  themselves  as  those 
to  whom  the  oracles  of  God  are  committed  and  addressed,  on 
whom  all  the  duties  of  christian  are  binding,  and  to  whom  all 
the  privileges  of  true  christians  are  offered ; — and  these  are 
advantages  of  no  small  consequence  but  of  inestimable  worth, 
since  all  others  are  regarded  as  the  heathen  and  as  lying  in  the 
open  field  beyond  the  enclosure  of  the  Heavenly  vineyard, 
though  not  beyond  the  exercise  of  the  divine  mercy.  But  it  is 
not  only  for  these  benefits  that  bring  the  kingdoin  of  God  nigh 
unto  them,  rather  than  directly  confer  it  on  them,  that  appli- 
cation is  made  on  their  behalf  in  this  ordinance,  but  for  all 
those  things  which  inseparably  accompany  salvation,  yea,  and 
for  salvation  itself  with  all  its  blessings.  We  seek  for  them  all 
the  blessings  that  belong  to  true  believers — that  they  may  be 
washed  from  sin.  and  endued  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  admitted  to 
the  favor  and  into  the  family  of  God,  and  become  entitled  to 
everlasting  Hfe.  So  it  is  distinctly  declared  in  our  Confession 
of  Faith,  which  also  teaehes  that  "by  the  right  use  of  this  ordi- 
nance the  grace  promised  is  not  only  offered,  but  really  exhib- 


410  ARTICLES  ON    BAPTISM. 

ited  and  conferred  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  such  (whether  of 
age  or  infant)  as  that  grace  belongeth  unto,  according  to  the 
counsel  of  God's  own  will,  in  His  appointed  time." 

Of  all  these  blessings  baptism  is  a  sign,  but  it  is  more.  It  is 
also  as  the  very  nature  of  a  sacrament  implies,  a  seal  or  pledge 
to  assure  us  of  them,  and  a  means  wihereby,  as  we  have  just 
heard,  we  receive  the  same  in  God's  own  manner,  measure, 
and  season.  The  promises  of  forgiveness  of  sin,  and  of  adop- 
tion among  the  Sons  of  God  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  are  visibly 
signed  and  sealed ;  faith  is  confirmed ;  and  grace  increased. 
Such  blessings  are  conveyed  to  all  of  mature  years  who  receive 
this  ordinance  rightly,  and  in  their  principles  and  virtue,  by 
such  infants  in  whom  God  in  His  Sovereign  mercy  and  in 
answer  to  prayer  is  pleased  to  bestow  them.  He  who  filled 
John  the  Baptist  and  many  of  his  prophets  "with  the  Holy 
Ghost  from  their  mother's  womb"  is  also  able  when  and  where 
He  will,  to  confer  the  inward  and  spiritual  grace  signified  and 
sealed  by  baptism,  to  as  many  infants  as  are  brought  unto  Him 
in  the  exercise  of  a  true  faith  in  His  willingness  and  His 
ability. 

Baptism,  then,  being  an  outward  sign  of  inward  grace — if 
we  have  the  outward  sign  only,  we  have  the  shadow  without 
the  substance.  "Of  old  the  Apostle  says  of  the  Jews,  'all  our 
fathers  were  under  the  cloud,  and  all  passed  through  the  sea : 
and  were  all  baptized  unto  Moses  in  the  cloud  and  in  the  sea:' 
but  all  beheved  not,  and  therefore  they  were  overthrown  in  the 
wilderness.  They  all  used  the  form  and  were  equal  partakers 
of  'the  outward  sign:'  but  those  only  who  had  faith  received 
the  spiritual  benefit  and  blessing,  for  by  faith  the  just  shall 
live." 

Such,  theui,  are  the  nature  and  design,  the  professions,  obli- 
gations and  benefits  of  christian  and  of  infant  baptism  in  par- 
ticular. And  that  these  benefits  do  ordinarily  flow  in  the  chan- 
nel of  the  baptized  children  of  the  church  is  a  fact  which  the 
whole  history  of  the  church  attests  and  which  has  been  remark- 
ably demonstrated  in  modern  revivals. 

How  serious  and  awfully  momentous  a  transaction,  then,  is 
it,  my  dear  hearers.  Often  have  I  been  shocked  and  grieved 
to  see  how  ignorantly,  how  negligently,  how  thoughtlessly  it  has 


ARTICLES   ON    BAPTISM.  411 

been  entered  upon,  and  how  many  there  are  who  have  lived  to 
grow  up  to  be  men  and  women  who  have  sold  their  precious 
birthright  for  a  mess  of  worldly  gratification,  who  have  turned 
their  back  on  the  God  of  their  fathers,  apostatized  from  the 
faith,  become  self -excommunicate  from  the  commonwealth  of 
promise,  and  are  living  without  God  and  without  hope  in  the 
world. 

Reflect,  I  beseech  you,  my  dear  hearers.  Are  you  a  parent  ? 
Remember  your  child  has  a  soul  and  is  to  live  for  ever  in 
another  world  and  not  merely  for  a  few  uncertain  years  in  this. 
He  has  a  sinful  nature,  which  if  not  thoroughly  changed  will 
lead  him  into  a  course  of  life  that  will  and  must  end  in  ever- 
lasting misery.  How,  then,  should  you  watch  over,  and  pray 
for,  him.  How  careful  should  you  be  to  train  him  and  to 
"bring  him  up  in,  and,  oh!  how  horrible  the  thought  O'f  having 
the  blood'  of  your  child's  soul  required  at  your  hands  and  his 
damnation  charged  to  your  neglect  of  duty.  And  then,  you, 
too,  have  yourselves  immortal  souls,  placed  in  the  same  situa- 
tion. How,  then,  let  me  ask,  are  you  providing  for  the  salva- 
tion of  your  oivn  souls?  Have  you  been  baptized  not  into  a  sect 
or  denomination  of  christians,  not  intO'  the  visible  church 
merely,  but  into  Christ  Himself?  Do  you  prove  that  you  are 
thus  baptized  by  having  "put  on  Christ,"  by  wearing  Him  as 
your  covering,  by  looking  to  Him  as  your  life,  walking  after 
Him  as  your  guide,  and  living  to  Him  as  your  King  and  Mas- 
ter? Hath  a  real  change  passed  upon  you?  Are  your  evil 
tempers  and  dispositions  in  subjection?  Do  you  love  the 
Lord's  ways,  the  Lord's  people,  the  Lord's  Sabbaths,  His  sanc- 
tuary, and  all  the  assemblies  of  His  people,  and  do  you  find  that 
you  can  freely  spend  for  Him  your  money  and  your  time,  and 
be  willing  to  communicate  and  ready  to  distribute  and  zealous 
in  ever}'  good  work?  Is  it  your  grief  to  offend  Him,  and  are 
you  in  faith  and  patience  looking  for  that  blessed  hope  and  the 
glorious  appearing  of  your  great  God  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ?  If  so,  be  assured  that  when  He  who  is  your  life  shall 
appear,  then  shall  you  also  appear  with  Him  in  glory. 
"Know  ye  not  that  so  many  of  us  as  were  baptized  into  Jesus 
Christ  were  baptized  into  His  death?  Therefore  we  are  buried 
with  Him  by  baptism  into  death ;  that  like  as  Christ  was  raised 


412  ARTICLES  ON    BAPTISM. 

up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father,  even-  so  we  also 
should  walk  in  newness  of  life.  For  if  we  have  been  planted 
together  in  the  likeness  of  His  death,  we  shall  be  also  in  the 
likeness  of  His  resurrection:  knowing  this,  that  our  old  man  is 
crucified  with  Him,  that  the  body  of  sin  might  be  destroyed, 
that  henceforth  we  should  not  serve  sin.  For  he  that  is  dead  is 
freed  from  sin.  Now,  if  we  be  dead  with  Christ,  we  believe 
that  we  shall  also  live  with  Him.  Knowing  that  Christ,  being 
raised  from  the  dead,  dieth  no  more ;  death  hath  no  more 
dominion  over  Him.  For  in  that  He  died,  He  died  unto  sin 
once:  but  in  that  Fie  liveth,  He  liveth  unto  God.  Likewise 
reckon  ye  also  yourselves  to  be  dead  indeed  unto  sin,  but  alive 
unto  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."     Rom.  vi.  3  :11. 

But  if  all  this  sounds  like  an  unintelligible  jargon  in  your 
ears,  if  you  are  conscious  of  no  such  change  of  iheart  as  baptism 
is  designed  to  typify,  then  let  me  beseech  you,  as  you  regard 
your  own  souls  and  those  of  your  dear  children,  be  no  longer 
triflers  with  God.  He  invites  you  by  His  beloved  Son,  to 
receive  pardon  for  the  past  and  grace  for  the  future.  "Seek 
Him  while  He  may  be  found,  call  upon  Him  while  He  is  near." 
"To-day  if  you  will  hear  His  voice,  harden  not  your  heart,  lest 
He  swear  in  Mis  wrath,  that  ye  shall  never  enter  into  His  rest." 

The  worldly  and  the  impenitent  around  you  are  saying  to 
you,  "cast  in  your  lot  with  us."  and  hitherto  you  have  heard 
their  voice.  But  here  in  God's  house,  in  God's  name,  by  God's 
authority,  and  in  the  name  of  the  church,  I  would  say,  "cast  in 
thy  lot  among  us.  Come  with  us ;  we  are  engaged  in  a  benevo- 
lent enterprise,  our  object  is  to  glorify  God,  to  do  good  to  men, 
to  remove  the  evil  that  exists  in  the  world,  to  relieve  the  wants 
of  men,  both  temporal  and  spiritual ;  we  would  instruct  the 
ignorant,  reclaim  the  vicious,  and  save  the  lost.  Come  with 
us  to  the  praxer-meeting.  the  Sabbath  school,  the  weekly  lec- 
ture, the  sanctuary  of  God.  We  can  give  good  reasons.  Reli- 
gion is  true;  the  Bible  is  am  inspired  book;  christians  are  the 
excellent  of  the  earth ;  your  conscience  is  on  the  side  of  truth ; 
the  service  of  God  is  reasonable ;  godliness  is  profitable  for  all 
things ;  its  blessings  are  experienced  in  this  life  and  reach  to 
the  life  to  come.  If  you  cast  in  your  lot  with  us,  you  will  be 
saved  from  innumeral)le  evils ;  you  will  be  spared  much  suffer- 


ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM.  413 

ing  ariid  many  tears.  Trials  await  you,  sickness  and  sorrow, 
disappointments  and  reverses,  if  you  cast  in  your  lot  with  the 
people  of  God ;  but  grace  will  be  given-  you  to  bear  the  ills  of 
life,  and  all  things  will  work  together  for  your  good. 

And  now  in  the  name  of  the  Redeemer  who  died  for  you,  in 
the  name  of  the  ransomed  above  who  wait  the  issue  of  your 
decision,  in  the  name  of  the  churrh  who  prays  for  you,  of  your 
parents,  guardians  and  friends  who  love  you,  cast  in  your  lot 
among  us.  I  have  no  power  to  turn  your  minds,  but  I  can 
express  His  feelings.  I  would  take  every  clerk,  apprentice, 
and  young  man  of  every  pursuit,  by  the  hand,  and  say.  come 
with  us,  and  we  will  do  you  good. 


ARTICLE  VIII. 

An  Invitation  to  Fulfil  Baptismal  Engagements. 

Math.  11 :  29,  30. 

Take  my  yoke  upon  you  and  learn  of  me  and  ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your 
souls.     For  my  yoke  is  easy  and  my  burden  is  light. 

It  is  a  very  common,  but  a  very  great,  mistake,  to  suppose 
that  the  service  of  Christ  only  becomes  obligatory  if  we  our- 
selves enter  upon  it.  Such  is  not  the  case.  Our  duty  to 
Christ  arises  out  of  the  necessary  relation  in  which  we  stand 
to  God  as  moral,  accountable,  guilty  and  polluted  creatures, 
who  have  forfeited  God's  favor,  incurred  His  wrath,  and  who 
can  only  be  restored  to  His  enjoyment  and  His  love  by  that 
plan  of  redeeming  mercy  which  has  been  accomplished  by 
Jesus  Christ.  God  the  Father  having  originated  this  scheme 
of  mercy,  God  the  Son  having  wrought  it  out,  and  God  the 
vSpirit  having  undertaken  to  apply  and  perfect  it, — we  are 
under  a  natural,  necessary  and  unalterable  obligation  to  act 
in  accordance  with  these  facts — to  love  and  submit  our  hearts 
to  God,  to  consecrate  ourselves  to  Christ  and  rest  upon  His 
finished  work  and  righteousness  as  the  ground  of  our  accept- 
ance with  God;  and  to  trust  in,  and  earnestly  pray  for,  the 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  renew,  sanctify  and  sustain  our 
souls,  and  to  make  us  victorious  over  all  the  evils  of  our  infirm 
and  sinful  natures.  God  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Spirit, 
having  in  that  infinite  mercy  which  constitutes  the  mystery  of 
godliness,  entered  into  and  consummated  this  covenant  of 
grace,  have  laid  us  under  infinite  obligations  to  accept  of  its 
provisions  of  mercy  and  to  enter  upon  the  discharge  of  its 
imposed  obligations.  No  man  therefore  is  excusable  for  not 
loving  God,  for  refusing  to  take  Christ's  yoke  upon  him,  and 
for  living  without  the  guiding,  saving  and  sanctifying  influ- 
ences of  the  Holy  Spirit.  God  therefore  "has  revealed  His 
wrath  from  heaven  against  all  ungodliness  and  unrighteous- 
ness of  men  who  hold  the  truths  in  unrighteousness"  and 
"unto  them  that  do  not  obey  the  truth"  He  has  appointed 
"tribulation  and  anguish,  indignation  and  wrath."  "How 
then,"  asks  the  apostles,  "can  those  escape  who  neglect  the 


ARTICLES  ON   RAPTISM.  415 

great  salvation  ?"  "He  only  who  believeth  shall  be  saved,  and 
he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned."  Seeing  that  "Christ 
is  the  TRUTH,  the  way  and  the  LiFK,  and  there  is  no  other 
NAME  under  heaven  by  which  we  can  be  saved,  but  the  name 
of  Jesus." 

This  natural  and  necessary  obligation  to  love,   serve  and 
confide  in  God  the  Father,   Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  God  has 
enforced  upon  us  in  the  ordinance  of  baptism.     By  His  own 
infinite  right  to  our  hearts  and  lives.  He  here  binds  us  over 
to  His  service  and  glory  in  our  infant  years.     This  He  has 
done,  by  some  solemnity,  from  the  very  beginning  of  time. 
He  thus  says  to  us :  "Ye  are  not  your  own.     Your  soul,  your 
faculties,  your  powers  of  body  and  mind,  are  all  given  you  by 
Me,  that,  with  them,  you  may  glorify  and  enjoy  Me.     And  in 
view  of  your  proneness  to  wander  from  Me,  to  forget  Me,  and 
to  live  independently  of  Me,  I  thus  solemnly  consecrate  you 
to  My  service."    Thus  did  God  meet  you  and  me,  my  friends, 
at  the  very  entrance  of  life  and  make  His  demand  to  our 
hearts,  our  service,  and  our  lives.     "No  man  therefore  liveth 
unto  himself."     No  man  can  do  so  without  involving  himself 
in  the  guilt  of  open  rebellion  against  God,  an  open  renuncia- 
tion of  His  authority,  an  avowed  rejection  of  His  covenant, 
and  a  just  forfeiture  of  His  love  and  mercy.     It  is  not  true 
therefore  that  you  are  not  bound  to  be  a  christian,  and  to 
devote  yourself  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  unless  you  choose  to 
do  so.     You  are  bound  by  every  claim  of  infinite  right  to  do 
this.     You  can  have  no  proper  regard  to  God,  either  as  Father, 
Son,  or  Spirit,  unless  you  do  so.     The  relation  in  which  you 
stand  to  them,   as   your  Creator,   Redeemer   and   Sanctifier, 
demands  it.     The  routine  obligation  imposed  upon  you  by  bap- 
tism makes  this  cause  still  more  imperative.     And  when  you 
consider  the  nature  of  that   covenant   into   which   God  then 
entered  with  you,  and  how  it  involved  a  pledge  on  His  part 
as  well  as  an  obligation  on  yours,  how  it  secured  to  you,  upon 
acceptance,  all  the  blessings  of  redemption,  how  it  made  plain 
and  palpable  to  you  that  there  is  a  Trinity  in  the  divine  essence, 
and  that  it  is  upon  this  fact  the  plan  of  salvation  is  based,  and 
that  each  of  these  divine  persons  are  concerned  for  your  ever- 
lasting welfare  and  as  willing  as  they  are  able  to  impart,  and 


416  ARTICLES  ON    BAPTISM. 

to  preserve  to  your  spiritual  and  eternal  life; — when  you  con- 
sider that  it  was  pure,  free,  sovereign  and  unmerited  love 
which  devised  this  plan,  and  revealed  "the  great  mystery  of 
godliness,  God  manifest  in  the  flesh"  as  the  foundation  of 
your  hopes; — oh,  when  you  think  of  these,  and  then  consider 
how  you  have  lived  and  acted,  how  you  have  forgotten  God, 
how  you  have  lived  without  Him,  how  even  your  morality  has 
been  the  result  of  self-interested  and  worldly  motives  and  not 
from  regard  to  God  or  His  authority,  and  when  you  consider 
how  you  have  treated  Christ  and  done  utter  despite  to  the 
Spirit  of  grace,  do  you  not  see  that  your  "heart  is  deceitful 
and  desperately  wicked,"  and  that  your  whole  life  has  been 
one  continued  act  of  impiety,  ungodliness  and  practical 
atheism  ? 

Is  it  not  then  high  time  that  you  should  acquaint  yourself 
Vvith  God  and  be  at  peace  with  Him  before  the  day  of  your 
merciful  visitation  has  forever  terminated?  Is  it  not  time 
that  the  great  purpose  for  which  you  were  created  and  sent 
into  the  world — the  paramount  obligation  under  which  you  be 
to  God — should  be  fulfilled,  by  an  acceptance  of  the  covenant 
of  life,  an  entire  surrender  of  the  heart  to  Jesus  Christ  and 
Him  crucified,  and  a  heartfelt  devotion  to  His  service? 

Are  you  not  then  called  upon  to  do  this  freely  and  volun- 
tarily, by  a  sense  of  gratitude  to  God?  Is  He  not  your  ck;:- 
ATOR,  who  has  called  you  into  existence  and  watched  over  you 
with  the  tenderest  care  from  the  hour  of  your  birth  up  to  the 
present?  Have  you  a  blessing  of  any  kind  that  you  have  not 
received  from  Him?  Are  you  not  indebted  to  Him  for  all  the 
comforts  you  enjoy  in  affectionate  parents,  kind  friends,  a 
fond  family  and  a  happy  home?  And  is  it  not  this  same 
gracious  God  who  so  loved  you  that  He  gave  His  own  Son, 
His  only  Son,  and  who  was  in  the  beginning  with  God  and 
who  was  God,  that  He  might  become  an  all-sufficient  sacrifice 
for  your  sins,  w^ho  has  promised  to  give  His  Holy  Spirit  to 
them  that  ask  Him  to  be  their  teacher,  guide,  sanctifier 
and  comforter,  and  who  has  prepared  for  all  that  love  Him 
such  good  and  glorious  things  in  heaven  as  pass  men's  under- 
standing ?  Are  you  not  bound  by  gratitude,  my  hearer,  to  give 
yourself  up  entirely  to  Him?     Ought  you  not  to  surrender 


ARTICLES  ON   BAPTISM.  417 

yourself — heart,  soul  and  body,  all  without  reserve, — to  Him 
whose  you  are  by  creation  and  preservation,  but  above  all  by 
the  endearing  obligations  of  redeeming  love?  Has  not  He— 
that  compassionate  Saviour  who  poured  out  His  heart's  l)lood 
for  you — a  right  to  urge  on  you  the  demand  "give  me  thine 
heart,"  and  to  be  enthroned  in  your  soul  as  the  supreme  object 
of  your  love?  And  should  not  the  love  of  Christ  constrain 
you  to  devote  your  life  to  Him  who  gave  up  His  life  for  you? 

Can  you  reflect  on  all  you  profess  to  believe  this  Son  of 
God  endured  in  Gethsemane's  garden  and  on  Calvary's  cross, 
to  purchase  pardon  for  your  sins,  and  everlasting  happiness 
in  heaven  as  your  inheritance,  and  not  feel  that  gratitude  calls 
loudly  on  you  to  love  Flim  with  your  whole  heart,  and  at  the 
foot  of  the  cross  to  surrender  up  yourself,  and  all  you  have 
and  are,  to  Him  and  His  service  forever  and  ever?  What 
sin  or  worldly  vanity  would  you  not  cheerfully  sacrifice  for 
Him,  who  sacrificed  Himself  for  you?  What  soul-destroying 
lust  would  you  prefer  to  His  life-giving  smile?  Did  He  leave 
the  bosom  of  His  Father,  the  throne  of  His  glory  and  stoop 
to  humiliation,  sorrow,  suffering  and  death,  for  your  sake,  and 
oh,  can  you  hesitate  to  leave,  at  His  call,  whatever  He  com- 
mands you  to  forsake ;  and  to  bear  in  His  service  whatever  He 
commands  you  to  endure  ?  In  a  word,  did  He  die  for  you, 
and  will  you  refuse  to  live  for  Him?  And  if  you  can,  must 
you  not  loathe  yourself  as  a  monster  of  ingratitude,  and  feel 
that  sentence  is  no  less  just  than  terrible,  which  declares  that 
"if  any  man  love  not  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  let  him  be  anath- 
ema maranatha" — that  is,  cursed  when  the  Lord  comes  to 
judge  the  world  in  righteousness? 

T  beseech  you,  therefore,  by  all  the  love  Christ  has  shown 
and  all  the  sufferings  He  has  endured  for  you — by  His  agony 
and  bloody  sweat.  His  cross  and  passion,  come  forward  and  in 
His  strength  resting  all  your  hopes  on  His  finished  work  and 
righteousness,  in  humble  reliance  on  His  Spirit,  with  a  broken 
and  a  contrite  heart  deeply  penitent  for  all  your  past  sins, 
and  overflowing  with  gratitude  for  all  His  love,  come  and 
surrender  yourself  up  to  Him  for  life,  for  death,  for  eternity, 
and  take  Him  as  your  prophet,  jurist  and  king,  your  atone- 
ment,    INTERCESSOR    and     EXAMPLE,    your    strength     and 

27— Vol.  X. 


418  ARTICLES   ON    BAPTISM. 

RIGHTEOUSNESS,  your  JOY  and  glory,  your  all  in  all.  Give 
yourself  up  to  Him  in  the  bonds  of  a  covenant  that  shall 
remain  firm  when  the  heaven  and  the  earth  shall  be  dis- 
solved— have  your  sins  washed  in  His  blood,  your  heart 
filled  with  His  love,  your  character  conformed  to  His  image, 
your  soul  sanctified  by  His  grace,  and  your  life  consecrated 
to  His  service. 

But  this  fulfillment  of  your  baptismal  obligations  is  urged 
upon  you  also  by  a  regard  to  your  present  and  everlasting 
happiness.  Are  you  not,  without  Christ,  without  reconcilia- 
tion with  God,  without  true,  inward  and  satisfying  happiness, 
without  hope  for  death,  judgment  and  eternity,  under  the 
power  of  your  own  evil  heart,  and  led  captive  by  Satan  at  his 
will?  And  as  it  regards  worldly  pleasure,  pomp,  and  vanity, 
are  these  things  deserving  of  your  affection  ?  Can  they  confer 
solid  happiness?  Has  any  human  being  ever  found  them 
better  than  Solomon  did,  or  than  Buckingham,  Chesterfield 
and  others  have  found  them  in  modern  times?  Do  they  not 
steal  away  the  heart  from  God,  rob  the  soul  of  that  peace  and 
joy  which  God  alone  can  give — "the  peace  which  passeth  all 
understanding  and  the  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory?" 
And  can  you  not,  without  a  sigh,  renounce  them  all,  "remem- 
bering that  if  any  man  love  the  world,  or  the  things  of  the 
world,  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him."  And  as  it 
regards  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  these  are  manifestly  irrecon- 
cilable with  inward  peace.  There  can  be  no  peace  to  the 
wicked.  "They  who  sow  to  the  flesh  shall  of  the  flesh  reap 
corruption."  The  poisoned  cup,  which  for  a  time  gives 
delirious  joy,  will  ere  long  prove  wormwood  and  gall  to  the 
awakened  conscience  and  fill  the  soul  with  the  fearful 
agonies  of  terror  and  remorse.  And  can  you  then  hesitate  as 
you  look  at  the  light  of  the  cross  to  resolve  by  the  grace  of 
God  to  crucify  all  the  sinful  lusts  of  the  flesh,  whose  indul- 
gence must  deprive  you  of  the  light  of  God's  countenance, 
the  happiness  that  flows  from  His  favor,  and  all  the  blessings 
for  time  and  for  eternity,  which  an  Almighty  Saviour  has 
purchased  for  all  His  faithful  followers  by  His  own  infinitely 
precious  blood? 


ARTICLES   ON    BAPTISM.  419 

But  Still  further,  you  are  bound  by  your  baptism  to  believe 
all  things  whatsoever  Christ  hath  commanded.  And  does  not 
a  regard  to  your  own  welfare  imperatively  call  upon  you  to 
do  so?  Is  it  not  essential  to  your  true  happiness  that  you 
should  cordially  believe  whatever  God  in  His  infinite  conde- 
scension and  kindness  has  been  pleased  to  reveal  in  His  holy 
word ;  that  you  should  sit  at  the  Saviour's  feet  like  Mary,  with 
the  teachable  spirit  of  a  little  child  to  receive  with  humble 
faith  the  gracious  words  that  proceed  out  of  His  mouth;  and 
that  you  should  submit  with  thankful  acquiescence  to  God's 
holy  will,  and  render  a  cheerful  obedience  to  all  God's  com- 
mandments, seeing  they  are  all  framed  in  unspeakable  love, 
and  are  embodied  expressions  of  His  desire  to  promote  your 
happiness  ? 

Believe  me — to  use  at  some  length  the  words  of  the  Rev. 
Hugh  White  of  Dublin- — if  ever  Satan,  the  father  of  lies,  has 
propagated  a  falsehood,  which  bears  branded  on  it  all  the 
malignity  of  his  own  diabolical  nature,  it  is  that  most  mon- 
strous libel  on  the  religion  of  the  gospel,  by  which  he  seeks, 
alas!  often  too  successfully,  to  deter  the  young  from  coming 
to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ — even  the  blasphemous  libel,  that 
His  service  is  incompatible  with  real  happiness  of  heart,  and, 
if  cordially  engaged  in,  will  cloud  the  countenance  with  sad- 
ness, and  the  spirit  with  gloom !  What !  the  service  of  a 
Saviour-God  a  gloomy  service !  What !  the  smile  of  a  cove- 
nant-God, of  Him  in  whose  presence  is  the  fulness  of  joy, 
make  the  soul  miserable !  The  hope  of  heaven,  of  eternal 
happiness,  throw  a  gloom  over  the  path  of  life !  What  blas- 
phemous absurdity !  Why !  is  not  the  gospel,  in  its  very 
essence,  "glad  tidings  of  great  joy?"  Is  not  the  kingdom  of 
God  "righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy,  in  the  Holy  Ghost?" 
Is  not  the  child  of  God  commanded  to  "rejoice  in  the  Lord 
alway,"  yea,  even  when  "sorrowful,"  to  be  "always  rejoicing" 
in  Him,  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory?  Who,  who 
has  a  right  to  be  happy,  but  the  real  christian  ?  Who,  but  he, 
that  "being  justified  by  faith,  has  peace  with  God,  and  rejoices 
in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God,"  even  the  glory  to  be  revealed, 
when  Christ  shall  appear,  and  all  His  saints  shall  appear  with 
Him  in  glory ! 


4?0  ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM. 

What,  I  would  affectionately  ask  you,  my  dear  young  friend, 
what  can  make  you  truly  happy,  if  it  be  not  the  consciousness 
of  possessing,  in  the  ever-blessed  God.  an  all-satisfying  por- 
tion, for  time  and  for  eternity?  To  feel  that  God  is  your  own 
God,  for  ever  and  ever — to  feel  that  God  the  Father  is  your 
Father — that  He  loves  you,  for  His  dear  Son's  sake,  with  an 
everlasting  love — that  He  is  continually  watching  over  you 
for  good — and  showering  down  His  most  precious  blessings 
on  you — that  here  He  will  guide  you  by  His  counsel,  and  here- 
after receive  you  to  His  glory !  To  feel  that  God  the  Son, 
is  your  all-sufficient  Saviour,  and  unchangeable  Friend — that 
He  died  for  your  sins — rose  again  for  your  justification,  and 
now  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  you,  as  your  Advo- 
cate with  the  Father,  and  thus  to  procure  for  you  all  the  bless- 
ings of  the  everlasting  covenant — that  your  sins  are  blotted 
out  in  His  blood — that  your  soul  is  clothed  in  the  spotless  robe 
of  His  righteousness — that  He  is  now  constantly  looking  down 
on  you  from  His  mediatorial  throne,  with  the  ever-watchful 
eye  of  a  Redeemer's  love — and  that  He  will  come  again  (per- 
haps ere  long,  for  we  know  not  the  day,  nor  the  hour,  wherein 
the  Son  of  Man  cometh)  to  make  you  a  partaker  of  His  own 
glory,  in  the  day  of  His  appearing,  and  for  ever  and  ever !  To 
feel  that  God  the  Holy  Ghost  is  your  Sanctifier,  Comforter. 
Teacher,  Guardian,  and  Guide ;  that  He  will  lead  you  into  all- 
saving  truth,  supply  you  with  all  needful  strength,  and  refresh 
you  wnth  the  most  reviving  cordials,  when  you  are  ready  to 
faint,  in  running  the  race  set  before  you — give  you  the  victory 
over  all  your  spiritual  enemies — renew  your  soul  in  the  divine 
image — help  all  your  infirmities,  in  your  supplications  to  the 
throne  of  grace,  teaching  you  both  what  to  pray  for,  and  how 
to  pray — enable  you  to  study  the  Scripture  with  profit  and 
delight — make  every  divine  ordinance  a  fountain  of  spiritual 
comfort  and  support — and  that  having  begun  a  good  w^ork 
in  you.  He  will  carry  it  on  triumphantly,  till  He  has  sanctified 
you  wholly,  body,  soul,  and  spirit,  and  presented  you,  unblam- 
able in  holiness,  even  in  the  sight  of  the  holy  God!  To  feel 
that  you  are  a  member  of  God's  holy,  happy  family — that  you 
are  linked  in  a  bond  of  brotherhood  with  all  that  is  good,  and 
pure,  and  glorious,  throughout  the  universe — that  angels  and 


ARTICLES  OX    UAPTISM.  431 

archangels,  cherubim  and  seraphim,  are  now  ministering 
spirits,  performing  towards  you  tender  offices  of  holy  love, 
and  will,  ere  long,  with  patriarchs  and  prophets,  apostles  and 
martyrs,  and  all  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord,  be  your  com- 
panions in  heaven,  the  sharers  and  brighteners  of  all  your  celes- 
tial bliss!  To  feel  that  heaven  is  your  destined  and  everlast- 
ing home — that  every  day  is  bringing  you  nearer  the  enjoy- 
ment, and  that  no  period  of  ages,  however  incalculable,  will 
bring  you  to  the  termination  of  its  inconceivable  felicity ! 
Such  are  the  feelings,  and  such  the  hopes,  which  the  religion 
of  the  gospel  warrants  its  sincere  votaries  to  cherish.  And  is 
this  the  religion,  which  will  sadden  the  spirit  with  a  chilling 
gloom?  and  which,  if  you  embrace,  you  must  bid  farewell  to 
gladness  of  heart  for  ever?  Are  these  the  prospects  that  will 
darken  the  path  of  life?  Oh,  may  not  I  rather  ask  you,  what 
can  confer  true  happiness,  if  such  feelings  and  such  hopes  as 
these  cannot?  What  can  the  world  offer  you,  to  be  compared 
for  a  moment  with  such  happiness  as  thisf  May  I  not  appeal 
to  your  own  judgment,  would  it  not  be  desperate  madness  to 
fling  away  such  happiness,  even  for  a  time,  and  get  nothing 
worth  wishing  for  in  exchange — for  the  world  or  Satan  really 
has  nothing  of  solid,  satisfying  enjoyment,  to  offer  as  a  bribe, 
to  induce  you  to  give  up  the  happiness,  which  the  smile  and 
service  of  God,  and  the  hope  and  foretaste  of  heaven,  can 
bestow ! 

But  I  must  not  neglect  to  remind  you,  that  you  have  only, 
at  most,  a  few  years,  to  spend  here  below — perhaps  only  a  few 
days— or  hours — for  you  are  but  a  pilgrim  on  earth,  passing 
through  it  to  an  eternal  world ;  that  you  must  choose  between 
God  and  Satan,  as  your  master — between  everlasting  happi- 
ness and  everlasting  misery,  as  your  portion — between  heaven 
and  hell  as  your  dwelling-place — for  ever  and  e7.>er.  You  may 
reject  God,  but  theii,  you  must  choose  Satan,  as  your  master, 
for  ever.  You  may  fling  away  everlasting  happiness  in  heaven 
for  the  trifles,  the  vanities,  the  baubles,  of  earth — but,  if  you 
do !  you  cannot  escape  from  eternal  misery  in  hell !  Heaven, 
I  would  again  and  again  impress  it  on  your  most  solemn  con- 
sideration— Heaven  cannot  be  lost,  zvithout  hell  being  secured. 
as  your  abode  for  ever! 


432  ARTICLES  ON   BAPTISM. 

And  believe  me,  if  you  are  thus  enabled,  by  the  Almiglity 
power  of  this  blessed  Spirit,  to  choose  that  good  part,  which 
shall  never  be  taken  from  you,  even  to  choose  Christ  as  your 
Saviour,  Master,  Example,  and  Portion  for  ever — you  will 
never,  never  repent  of  your  choice. 

You  will  not  repent  of  having  chosen  Christ,  when  your 
pathway  through  life  is  brightened  with  the  sunshine  of 
earthly  happiness;  for  His  smile  will  then  pour  into  your  soul 
the  very  essence  of  heaven's  happiness,  while  it  will  gild,  with 
increased  gladness,  every  scene  of  purified  enjoyment,  through 
which  you  pass !  And  oh !  how  sweet  will  you  find  the  reflec- 
tion, that  you  are  giving  your  heart  and  life,  in  all  their  fresh- 
ness, to  Him,  who  has  showered  His  blessings  so  plenteously 
upon  you — to  Him,  who  has  bought  you  with  His  own  most 
precious  blood,  and  are  spending,  in  His  blessed  service,  those 
years,  which  so  many  thousands,  at  your  age,  are  wasting  in 
the  service  of  the  world  and  sin !  Should  you  die  soon,  or 
suddenly,  how  delightful  to  depart,  and  be  with  Christ  for 
ever !  But  should  length  of  years  be  allotted  for  you,  how- 
delightful  to  look  back  on  a  long  life,  spent,  from  its  earliest 
dawn,  in  grateful  devotedness  to  His  service,  and  affectionate 
endeavours  to  promote  His  glory ! 

Nor  will  you  repent  of  your  choice,  when  affliction  comes, 
and  the  clouds  of  sorrow  gather  round  you,  for  His  smile  will 
break  through  and  brighten  the  gloom,  and  His  voice  whisper 
peace  to  your  soul,  saying,  "Fear  not !  it  is  I,  who  in  love 
appoint  all  your  trials ;  for  as  many  as  I  love,  I  rebuke  and 
chasten,  to  make  them  partakers  of  my  holiness,  and  thus  of 
my  happiness,  even  for  ever  and  ever." 

You  will  not  repent  of  having  chosen  Christ,  at  that  awful 
hour,  when  His  smile  shall  brighten  to  your  view  the  dark 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  and  you  will  be  enabled  to  go 
down  into  the  valley  with  cheerful  courage,  leaning  on  His 
Almighty  arm,  and  gladdened  by  the  glorious  prospect,  that, 
when  you  have  crossed  the  dark  valley,  you  shall  be  admitted 
into  His  immediate  presence,  to  rejoice  there  with  joy  unspeak- 
able and  full  of  glory,  for  ever  and  ever. 

Nor  will  you  repent  of  having  chosen  Christ,  in  that  day 
of  His  second  coming,  when  He  shall  appear  in  awful  majesty. 


ARTICLES  ON    BAPTISM.  423 

revealed  from  heaven,  in  flaming  fire,  attended  by  all  His  holy 
angels;  and  when  all,  that  have  despised  His  love,  shall  be 
destroyed  with  an  everlasting  destruction — for  then  shall  your 
glorification  be  indeed  complete !  Then  shall  your  body  be 
made  incorruptible  and  immortal — a  glorified  body,  like  the 
Redeemer's ;  and  He  will  then  place  you  at  His  right  hand,  as 
He  sitteth  upon  the  throne  of  His  glory,  and  will  say  unto  you, 
"Come  thou  blessed  of  my  Father!  inherit  the  kingdom  pre- 
pared for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world !"  Oh  !  think 
you,  that  you  will  then  repent  of  having  surrendered  up  your- 
self to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  be  His  for  life  and  death,  for 
time  and  for  eternity?  And  will  there  come  that  period, 
throughout  the  countless  ages  of  that  eternity,  when  you  will 
ever  repent  of  such  a  surrender?  Or  rather  will  you  not,  as 
its  successive  ages  are  rolling  on,  and  your  glory  is  continually 
brightening,  and  your  happiness  continually  deepening — Oh ! 
will  you  not  rejoice  in  the  retrospect  of  this  surrender,  with 
continually  increasing  gratitude  and  joy?  And  will  you  not, 
with  yet  a  loftier  and  sweeter  strain,  as  age  after  age  of  incon- 
ceivable blessedness  passes  over,  and  still  an  undiminished 
eternity  of  bliss  lies  before  you,  lift  up  your  voice  before  His 
throne,  to  join  wnth  all  His  ransomed  people  in  that  new  song 
of  gratitude  and  praise,  "Unto  Him  that  loved  us,  and  washed 
us  from  our  sins  in  His  own  blood,  and  hath  made  us  kings 
and  priests  unto  God,  even  the  Father — unto  Him,  with  the 
Father,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  three  Persons  and  one  God,  be 
equal  and  everlasting  adoration  and  thanksgiving,  and  bless- 
ing-! for  ever  and  ever!     Amen!  and  Amen!" 


ARTICLE  IX. 

Baptism  Not  a  Representation  of  Christ's  Burial  and 
Death  ;  But  Only  an  Emblem  of  the  Blessings  Pro- 
cured BY  Christ's  Death  and  Our  Consequent  Obli- 
gations. 

Rom.  6:  3,  4:  Know  ye  not,  that  so  many  of  us  as  were  baptized  into 
Jesus  Christ  were  baptized  into  His  death  ? 

Therefore,  we  are  buried  with  Him  by  baptism  into  death  :  that  like  as 
Christ  was  raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father,  even  so 
we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of  life. 

Col.  2  :  12.  Buried  with  Him  in  baptism,  wherein  also  ye  are  risen  with 
Him  through  the  faith  of  the  operation  of  God,  who  hath  raised  Him  from 
the  dead. 

These  two  passages  of  Scripture  are  regarded  as  strongholds 
by  our  Baptist  brethren  in,  the  controversy  res'"  ^dtig  the  mode 
of  Christian  baptism.  According  to  them  they  both  refer  to 
the  mode  and  form  of  baptism,  and  teach  that  the  instruction 
and  import  of  the  ordinance  depend  on  their  mode  of  adminis- 
tration, that  is,  immersion.  "Wheni  the  apostle  so  calls  it," 
says  Dr.  Giill,  "he  manifestly  refers  to  the  ancient  and  only  way, 
of  administering  this  ordinance,  by  immersion;  when  a  person 
is  covered,  and  as  it  were  buried  in  water,  as  a  corpse  is  when 
laid  in  the  earth,  and  covered  with  it ;  and  it  is  a  iburial  zvith 
Christ;  'tis  a  representation  of  the  burial  of  Christ,  and  of  our 
burial  with  Him  as  our  Head  and  Representative,  and  that  into 
death;  meaning  either  the  death  of  Christ  as  before,  that  is,  so 
as  to  partake  of  the  benefits  of  His  death ;  or  the  death  of  sin, 
of  which  baptism  is  also  a  token;  for  believers,  whilst  under 
water,  are  as  persons  buried,  and  so  dead." 

And  on  the  passage  in  Colossians,  among  other  matter  to  the 
same  purpose,  lie  observes,  "baptism  being  performed  by 
immersion  when  the  person  baptized  is  covered  with  water  and 
as  it  were  buried  in  it,  is  a  very  significant  emblem  of  all  this ; 
'tis  a  representation  of  the  burial  oi  Christ,  and  very  fitly 
holds  Him  forth  to  the  view  of  faith  in  the  state  of  the  dead, 
in  the  grave,  and  points  out  the  place  where  the  Lord  lay ;  and 
it  is  also  a  representation  of  our  burial  with  Him  as  being  dead 
to  sin,  to  the  law,  and  to  the  world  by  Him.  This  shows  now 
that  baptism  was  performed  by  dipping,  or  covering  the  whole 


ARTICLES  ON    UAPTISM.  425 

body  in  water,  for  no  other  form  of  administration  of  baptism, 
as  sprinkling,  or  pouring  water  on  the  face,  can  represent  a 
burial  or  be  called  one." 

Now,  it  will  be  our  present  object  to  show :  1.  That  this  can 
not  be  the  meaning  of  these  passages  and  that  the  argument 
founded  on  them  by  our  Baptist  brethren  is  altogether  illusory 
and  imaginative  and  without  any  foundation  in  the  facts  or  in 
the  reason  of  the  case ;  and  2.  To  show  what  is  their  true  and 
real  meaning. 

"That  these  words,"  says  my  former  professor,  Dr.  Halley, 
in  his  elaborate  work  on  the  Sacraments  (whose  words  I  will 
employ  as  they  will  convey  my  own  views),  "That  these  words 
are  figurative,  allusive,  no  one  will  deny.  But  the  design  of 
baptism,  if  to  represent  the  death  of  Christ  be  its  design,  as  is 
afifirmed  would  then  be  no  where  ostensibly  and  plainly  taught, 
but  only  obliquely  noticed  in  figurative  language,  in  order  to 
illustrate  another  subject.  Of  course,  this  interpretation  of  the 
figure  can  be  found  in  the  inspired  writings,  we  readily  acqui- 
esce ;  but  we  are  not  disposed  to  allow  a  fallible  interpreter  of 
figures  to  give  law  to  the  christian  church,  especially  when  his 
unauthorized  interpretation  appears  to  us  incongruous  and 
inconsistent.  If  I  am  asked  for  the  meaning  of  the  apostle's 
language;  I  reply,  do  we  not  satisfy  all  the  legitimate  require- 
ments of  the  figure  in  maintaining  that  all  who  have  the  spirit- 
ual blessings  proposed  in  the  emblem  of  baptism,  have  obtained 
them  through  the  death,  burial,  and  resurrection  of  Christ? 
Those  who  have  been  baptized  not  only  in  the  letter,  but  also 
in  the  spirit,  are  virtually  and  legally  considered  as  having 
become  united  to  Christ  in  the  fellowship  of  His  sufiferings.  and 
the  power  of  His  resurrection;  they  have  figuratively  died  unto 
sin  and  become  alive  unto  righteousness.  But  if  the  expres- 
sions are  figurative  and  represent  spiritual  things,  no  man  who 
has  not  the  reality  of  the  baptismal  emblem,  has  been  baptized 
into  the  death  of  Christ,  or  has  been  buried  with  Him  in  bap- 
tism; while  every  man  who  has  that  reality  has  been  spirit- 
ually baptized  into  the  death  of  Christ,  and  been  buried  with 
Him  in  the  baptism  of  the  Spirit.  H  I  am  dead  with  Christ,  I 
have  been  buried  with  Him  in  my  baptism,  not  into  water,  but 
by  His  Spirit  into  His  death.     Is  not  this  the  sense,  and  all  the 


426  ARTICLES   ON    BAPTISM. 

sense,  of  the  figurative  language  of  the  apostle?  We  object. 
then  to  the  interpretation  of  the  symbols  given  by  the  Baptists 
in  the  first  place,  because  it  is  unauthorized,  except  by  figura- 
tive language,  which  will  admit  of  another  and,  as  we  think, 
better  interpretation.  That  baptism  is  the  funeral  solemnity 
of  a  believer,  or  his  interment  in  the  tomb  of  Christ,  is  a  doc- 
trine which  has  no  sure  warranty  of  Holy  Scripture." 

In  the  next  place  we  remark  that  the  symbols,  as  Baptists 
interpret  them,  appears  to  us  incongrvious  and  inappropriate. 
It  may  be  said,  we  have  no  right  to  pronounce  upon  the  pro- 
priety of  an  authorized:  symbol ;  but  in  this  instance  the  sup- 
posed resemblance  between  immersion  and  burial  is  the  foun- 
dation of  the  whole  argument.  It  is  said  by  the  Baptists, 
sprinkling  does  not  represent  a  burial ;  and  our  reply  is,  neither 
does  immersion.  The  momentary  and  hasty  dipping  is  so  little 
like  the  solemn  act  of  committing  the  body  to  the  earth ;  the 
water  is  so  little  like  a  tomb ;  the  service  so  little  like  a  funeral 
solemnity ;  the  words,  I  baptize  thee  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost  so  inappropriate  to  the 
burial  of  the  dead,  and  the  active  and  voluntary  entrance  into 
the  font  so  little  like  the  involuntary  deposit  of  a  dead  body, 
w'hich  after  all  is  only  partial  and  effected  as  much  by  the  per- 
son baptized  as  by  the  person  baptizing. 

Besides  the  burial  is  with  Christ  in  His  tomb;  and  therefore 
the  burial  of  Christ  is  the  model  of  the  service,  and  hence  we 
object,  in  the  third  place,  that  the  Baptist  interpretation  is  not 
true  to  fact.  For  was  Christ  let  down  into  the  earth?  Was 
there  in  His  burial  any  circumstance  which  cannot  be  fitly 
represented  by  immersing  in  water?  To  lay  a  person  in  a 
tomb  cut  in  a  rock,  and  to  complete  the  sepulchre  by  rolling  a 
stone  to  the  opening,  bears  no  resemblance  to  any  mode  of  bap- 
tism whatever.  Our  Baptist  friends,  we  think,  gain  some 
adventitious  aid  in  representing  immersion  as  the  sign  of  a 
burial,  because  the  baptistery  as  usually  made  in  their  chapels, 
in  size  and  form,  most  fortunately  for  their  argiunent,  resem- 
bles a  modem  grave  much  more  than  it  does  a  Jewish  sepulchre. 
Were  the  image  of  the  sepulchre  in  the  garden  to  be  exhibited 
in  front  of  the  baptistery,  the  charm  of  the  representation,  and 


ARTICLES  ON    BAPTISM.  427 

with  it  the  force  of  the  argument  would,  we  imagine,  be  very 
speedily  dissolved. 

Or  is  the  scene  to  be  changed?  Instead  of  the  tomb  of 
Jesus,  are  we  to  think  of  the  usual  sepulchre  of  that  age?  As 
the  burial  is  with  Christ,  we  have  no  right  to  be  allured  from 
the  garden'  of  Joseph.  But  seek  where  we  may  for  a  burial  in 
connexion  with  the  passage,  we  shall  find  no  resemblance  to 
immersion — not  even  the  poor  analogy  of  a  modern,  funeral. 
Deposhed  in  the  Jewish  tomb,  embalmed  in  the  spicery  of  the 
dead,  and  wrapped  in  cleam  linen  our  Lord  was  interred  as  "the 
manner  of  the  Jews  is  to  bury."  From^  His  tomb,  although 
"bound  hand  and  foot  in  grave  clothes,"  Lazarus  could  come 
forth.  To  a  Jewish  burial  I  see,  therefore,  no  resemblance  in 
immersion,  but  every  thing  dissimilar,  since  there  were  tombs 
in  which  demoniacs  found  shelter  and  robbers  a  refuge. 

But  as  the  first  passage  was  actually  addressed  to  the 
Romans,  does  the  representation  accord  with  the  funeral 
solemnities  of  the  imperial  city  ?  The  Jews  buried  their  dead, 
according  to  the  manner  of  their  own  nation;  and  the  Romans 
of  that  age  placed  the  corpse  upon  a  pyre  and  deposited  its 
ashes  in  an  urn.  We  have  in  baptism  nO'  sign  of  cremation. 
Immersion  in  Rome  would  remind  no  one  of  a  burial.  The 
shadow  of  the  watery  tomb  would  become  invisible  near  the 
blaze  of  the  funeral  pile.  If  water  to  the  Romans  or  to  the 
Jews  suggested  any  recollections  of  the  dead,  they  would  more 
probably  be  associated  with  the  universal  custom  of  washing 
the  corpse,  and  suggest,  therefore,  much  more  readily  sprink- 
ling and  pouring  than  immersion  or  dipping. 

A  burial  in  water  must  have  appeared  to  the  ancients  the 
most  incongruous  of  symbols,  estranged  from  all  their  associa- 
tions and  sympathies.  The  shade  of  Archytas,  represented  by 
Virgil  as  lying  unburied  on  the  seashore,  would  have  been 
content  if,  for  the  burial  of  his  body,  only  a  few  grains 
of  sand  had  been  sprinkled  over  it,  while  it  must  have 
remained  unburied,  had  all  the  waters  of  the  ocean  rolled 
over  it.  The  Fathers,  it  is  true,  early  adopted  this  opinion  of 
a  burial  by  immersion,  but  if  their  authority  be  adduced,  it  is  in 
favour  of  the  triune  immersion,  as  signifying  the  three  days  of 
Christ's  burial.     Besides,  what  conceivable  thing,  which  by  any 


438  ARTICLES  ON    BAPTISM. 

remote  analogy— any  faint  or  fanciful  resemblance — ^any 
ingenius  metaphor,  could  be  associated  with  baptism,  did  not 
the  Fathers  include  in  this  great  sacrament  of  most  varied  and 
inscrutable  mystery  ? 

Again,  we  object,  in  the  fourth  place,  that  the  representation 
of  a  burial  is  inconsistent  with  the  symbol  of  the  sanctification 
of  the  Spirit,  which  all  parties  acknowledge  to  be  represented 
in  baptism.  The  ritual  use  of  water  is  every  where  in  Scrip- 
ture noticed  as  the  symbol  of  sanctification^ — the  washing  away 
of  sin.  All  the  ablutions  of  the  Mosaic  law  spake  to  the  Jew 
of  an  internal  sanctity,  represented  by  the  external  cleansing. 
"Wash  you,  make  you  clean,"  was  the  language  of  their  proph- 
ets ;  and  their  exposition  was.  "Put  away  the  evil  of  your 
doings."  In  the  synogogues  of  the  ancient  church  was  read 
the  phophetic  description  of  the  purification  of  the  coming  age ; 
and  the  well  known  symbol  of  water  was  employed,  "I  will 
sprinkle  clean  water  upon  them,  and  they  shall  be  clean."  In 
the  New  Testament,  the  church  is  cleansed  "by  the  washing  of 
w'ater,"  and  its  members  are  to  draw  nigh  to  God,  "having  their 
bodies  washed  with  pure  water."  This.  I  may  say,  is  the  nat- 
ural and  universal  language  in  which  the  symbol  speaks  to  all 
mankind.  Water  among  all  nations  who  have  used  it  in  their 
religious  rites,  (and  what  nation,  having  a  ritual  has  not  used 
it?)  has  ever  been  regarded  as  the  proper  emblem  of  purifica- 
tion. What  else  was  the  meaning  of  the  diurnal  and  nocturnal 
ablutions  of  the  Egyptian  priests,  the  baptisms  of  the  Persians, 
the  Indians,  and  other  barbaric  tribes,  the  bathing  and  sprink- 
lings of  the  Greeks  in  all  their  mysteries,  the  lustrations  of  the 
Romans,  whose  olive  branch  as  the  instrument  of  sprinkling, 
corresponded  with  the  hyssop  of  the  Plebrews?  Vile  pagan 
oracles,  all  of  them!  some  one  may  exclaim.  They  are  just  as 
pagan  as  that  awful  voice  heard  at  their  sanguinary  altars, 
which  ileclares  that  the  blood  of  the  victim  is  a  deprecation  of 
the  punishment  of  sin.  In  both  instances,  those  oracles  utter 
their  response  in  harmony  with  holy  Scripture. 

But  I  need  not  pursue  these  remarks  any  further,  for  our 
Baptist  friends,  although  they  assert  that  baptism  is  the  repre- 
sentation of  a  burial,  also  acknowledge  that  it  is  the  emblem  of 
purification — of  the  washing  away  of  sin.     We  maintain,  how- 


ARTICLES   ON   BAPTISM.  42!) 

ever,  in  the  fifth  place,  that  the  two  emblems  are  inconsistent. 
and  cannot  be  associated  without  confusion^ — cannot  be  blended 
in  one  service  without  destroying  each  other,  and  that  the  for- 
mer, therefore,  must  be  abandoned.  To  attempt  the  symiboliz- 
ing  of  both  by  the  same  act,  is,  on  account  of  the  contrariety 
between  them,  to  symbolize  neither.  If  at  the  baptizing  I 
am  told  the  water  represents  the  grave  of  Christ,  and  also  the 
purification  of  a  christian.  I  am  unable  in  one  signi  to  realize 
both  significations.  If  the  shadow  of  the  tomb  of  my  Saviour, 
or  that  of  the  bath  of  my  regeneration  fall  upon  the  water  I 
can  discern  the  outline ;  but  if  both  fall  upon  it  together,  the 
lin-es  are  confused,  and  the  image  of  neither  can  be  distinctly 
traced.  Or  if  we  attempt  to  unite  them,  we  have  before  us  the 
ludicrous  image  of  a  man  washing  in  a  grave,  or  dying  in  a 
bath.  I  would  not  depreciate  the  powers  of  my  Baptist  friends, 
least  of  all  at  this  moment  would  I  ascribe  to  them  any  poverty 
of  imagination ;  but  I  do  not  believe  they  so  far  transcend  us  in 
this  particular  as  to  be  able  to  combine  the  two  emblems  with- 
out confusion,  and  to  make  the  same  service,  with  sobriety  and 
edification,  represent  a  cleansing  and  a  burial.  The  laws  of 
figurative  language  are  the  laws  of  ennblematical  representation. 
Because  Christ  is  in  Scripture  represented  as  a  vine,  and  a 
door,  who  would  plead  Scripture  in  justification  of  saying  in 
one  sentence,  Christ  is  a  grape-bearing  door,  or  denounce  the 
rhetorician  as  a  profane  scoffer,  who  should  expose  the  absurd- 
ity of  such  a  figure?  Although  such  a  denunciation,  I  think, 
has  been  uttered  against  those  who^  venture  to  smile  at  the 
washing  in  a  grave,  yet  with  the  utmost  respect  for  the  reli- 
gious feelings  of  my  brethren  which  ought  to  impose  serious- 
ness upon  a  spectator  I  must  be  permitted  to  plead  my  own 
religious  feelings,  which  are  assuredly  shocked  by  such  an 
incongruous  and  ludicrous  analogy. 

But,  in  the  sixth  place,  (to  adduce  the  objection  to  which  I 
have  already  adverted,)  the  burial  of  a  believer  with  Christ 
being  only  a  figurative  expression,  cannot  possibly  be  repre- 
sented in  baptism.  The  christian  sacraments  are  signs  of 
evangelical  truth,  and  not  of  tropes  and  metaphors — shadows 
of  realities,  and  not  the  shadows  of  a  shade.  There  is,  in 
reality,  no  more  a  burial  with  Christ,  than  there  is  a  crucifixion 


430  ARTICLES  ON    Bx\PTISM. 

with  Him.  Had  a  believer  been  actually  enclosed  in  the  tomb 
of  Christ,  would  it  have  been  to  him  of  the  slightest  advantage? 
If  the  body  of  Judas  Iscariot  had  -been  interred  in  the  garden 
of  Joseph,  instead  of  lying  exposed  in  the  field  of  blood,  would 
he,  like  the  man  cast  into  the  sepulchre  of  Elisha,  have  felt  the 
vivifying  influence  of  contact  with  the  body  of  a  prophet?  If 
it  be  said,  that  not  the  burial  of  the  believer,  but  the  truth 
implied  in  the  figure  is  represented,  the  inquiry  properly  arises, 
wihat  resemhlaDce  does  that  impHed  truth  bear  to  immersion? 
How  is  the  simple  truth  itself,  divested  of  the  embroidery  of 
figure,  symbolized  by  the  act  of  immersion?  Be  it  that  by  the 
figure  the  expiation  of  sin  is  intended,  or  be  it  the  sanctification 
of  the  sinner,  or  be  it  any  other  spiritual  blessing,  (for  I  con- 
cede any  latitude  here,  provided  we  have  a  blessing  and  not  a 
mere  figure  of  speech,)  and  that  spiritual  blessing  has  no  more 
resemblance  to  immersion  than  it  has  to  sprinkling.  On  the 
analysis  of  the  figure,  the  shadow  of  the  tonub  over  the  bap- 
tistery vanishes  like  the  mirage  on  the  water  when  the  object 
itself  comes  into  direct  view.  If  the  spiritual  blessing  intended 
bears  no  resemblance  to  immersion.,  the  attempt  to  represent 
the  figure  which  clothes  it  is  to  degrade  the  ordinance  of  bap- 
tism from  its  proper  position  in  theology,  to  the  subordinate 
office  of  being  ancillary  to  the  imaginative  paintings  of  rhetoric. 
Baptism  is,  in  our  estimation,  not  a  sacrament  dedicated  to  the 
service  of  rhetoric,  but  a  symbol  of  the  Divine  immortal  truth 
which,  in  passing  before  our  feeble  sight,  invests  itself  for  the 
moment  with  the  fading  figures  and  fugitive  colours  of  terres- 
trial imagery.  On  account  of  all  these  reasons  I  maintain  that 
in  baptism  there  is  no  representation  of  the  burial  of  a  believer 
with  Christ. 

To  find  a  reality  for  the  shadow,  some  Baptists  declare  that 
immersion  is  the  sign,  of  the  death  and  burial  of  Christ  Him- 
self. I  am  unwilling  to  ascribe  this  representation  to  any  who 
do  not  themselves  assert  their  faith  in  it,  as  I  believe  some  of 
our  Baptist  brethren  would  disavow  this  opinion,  if  it  were 
ascribed  to  them,  or  if  their  attention  were  seriously  directed 
to  its  implications.  As,  however,  their  influential  writers  do 
deliberately  assert  that  they  represent  by  immersion  the  burial 
and  resurrection  of  Christ,  they  are,  I  suppose,  prepared  to 


ARTICLES  ON    BAPTISM.  431 

defend  this  assertion  against  all  opponents.  But  to  this  we 
object,  in  the  seventh  place,  if  the  immersion  of  a  person  in 
water  represent  the  burial  of  Christ,  the  person  so  immersed  is 
proposed  as  the  representative  or  emblem  of  the  blessed 
Redeemer.  Unless  the  man  or  woman  so  immersed,  so  far  as 
that  service  is  concerned,  represent  Christ,  there  can  be  no 
emblematic  representation  of  the  burial  of  Christ.  But  is  the 
baptized  person  to  be  considered  as  representing  Christ  to  the 
spectators?  or  is  he  to  consider  himself  in  the  service  as  an 
emblem  of  Christ?  If  he  be,  this  controversy  on  immersion 
assumes  an  awful  importance.  A  man  of  like  passions  with 
ourselves,  being  put  into  the  water,  is  proposed  as  a  represen- 
tation of  Christ  being  laid  in  His  tomb!  I  will  recognize  no 
man  in  that  character.  I  will  not  so  profane  the  immaculate 
person  of  the  Saviour!  No  christian,  without  doing  violence 
to  his  best  feelings,  can  look  upon  his  fallen  brother  as  per- 
forming a  mystic  representation  of  Christ  dying  for  the  sins  of 
men.  I  do  not  stay  to  inquire  how  it  can  be  said  to  a  man, 
who  in  the  service  is  an  emblem  of  Christ,  "I  baptize  thee  in 
the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;"  'because,  instead  of  reasoning  upon  this  supposition,  I 
will  protest  for  the  honour  of  Christ  against  any  one  who  pre- 
tends to  act  the  part  of  the  blessed  Redeemer  in  the  most 
solemn  engagement  of  His  death,  burial,  and  resurrection. 
Elevate  a  crucifix  before  the  baptistei-y — carve  the  figure  of  the 
dead  Redeemer  in  wood  or  stone,  rather  than  propose  to  sinful 
man  as  the  representation  of  the  death  and  resurrection  of 
Christ,  because  I  cannot  persuade  myself  that  our  Baptist 
frieaiids  universally  hold  this  opinion.  Happy  shall  I  be  if  any 
of  our  brethren,  still  retaining  their  sentiments,  would  be 
induced  to  desist  from  this  objectionable  language ;  but  let  them 
speak  as  they  will,  we  must  maintain  that  baptism  is  nothing 
else  than  the  use  of  water  as  the  sign  of  the  sanctification  of 
the  soul,  because  we  believe  that  to  represent  it  in  any  other 
view  leads  to  lamentable  perversion  or  gross  caricature  of  evan- 
gelical truth. 

In  these  passages,  therefore,  there  is  no  warrant  whatever 
for  the  opinion  that  baptism  is  intended  to  represent  in  its 
modes,  the  mode  and  form  of  Christ's  'burial ;  while  it  is  as 


432  ARTICLES  ON   BAPTISM. 

evident  that  if  this  was  its  design  that  burial  could  ne\'er  be 
represented  by  immersion. 

Neither  do  these  passages  give  any  sanction  to  the  opinion 
that  only  believers,  and,  therefore,  only  adult  persons,  can  be 
baptized.  For  whatever  these  passages  mean  they  can  apply 
only  to  adults,  of  whom  the  apostle  is  speaking.  "As  many  of 
you  as  have  been  baptized  into  Jesus  Christ  have  put  on  Christ," 
that  is,  as  many  of  you  as  by  baptism  have  made  a  public  pro- 
fession of  your  heartfelt  and  genuine  faith  have  put  on  Christ. 
The  words,  therefore,  are  either  to  be  restricted  to  true  believ- 
ers and  not  to  all  that  have  been  baptized,  or  otherwise  the 
words  must  refer  only  to  that  external  relation  to  Christ  and 
His  Church  into  which  baptism  brings  all  to  whom  it  is  applied, 
whether  infants  or  adults,  x^nd  as  similar  language  is  applied 
to  circumcision  (in  the  same  epistle,  Gal.  5  :3),  of  which  infants 
were  undoubtedly  partakers,  it  cannot  in  any  proper  or  possible 
interpretation  limit  the  application  of  this  seal  of  the  right- 
eousness that  is  by  faith  to  adults. 

It  remains,  therefore,  briefly  to  shew  what  is  to  be  under- 
stood by  these  passages.  They  refer  not  to  the  burial,  but  to 
the  death  of  Christ.  The  burial  of  Christ,  in  itself  considered, 
establishes  and  secures  no  doctrine.  It  is  only  important  as  it 
affords  a  strong  confirmatory  proof  of  the  death  and  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ  and  of  the  true  Messiahship  of  Christ  by  the  ful- 
fillment it  afforded  of  "the  prophecies  that  went  before  con- 
cerning Him." 

In  these  verses  the  apostle  answers  an  objection  "by  show- 
ing that  the  sanctification  of  believers  rests  on  the  same  foun- 
dation, and  springs  from  the  same  source  as  their  justification, 
namely,  their  union  with  Jesus  Christ,  and,  therefore,  so  far 
from  being  contraiy  to  each  other  they  are  not  merely  in  per- 
fect harmony,  but  absolutely  irresponsible;  and  not  only  so.  but 
that  the  one  cannot  exist  without  the  other."  Christians,  there- 
fore, as  the  apostle  teaches,  are  dead  to  sin  because  they  died 
with  Christ.  The  rite  of  baptism  exhibits  christians  not  only 
as  dying,  but  also  as  buried  and  as  risen  with  Christ.  ''Know 
ye  not"  He  says,  a  thing  so  well  and  generally  understood  that 
"as  many  as  are  baptized  are  baptized  into  Jesus  Christ." 
Believers  by  faith  are  made  one  with  Christ  and  become  mem- 


ARTICLES  ON    BAPTISM.  433 

bers  of  His  body,  and  this  oneness  is  represented  emblemati- 
cally by  the  "one  baptism."  "Know  ye  not  that  as  many  as  are 
baptized  into  Christ  are  baptized  into  His  death."  The  rite  of 
baptism,  as  applied  to  believers,  proceeds  on  the  fact  that  they 
have  died  with  Him  who  bore  their  sins.  The  satisfaction 
rendered  to  the  justice  of  God  by  Christ  is  a  satisfaction  ren- 
dered to  the  justice  of  God  by  Him,  for  them,  and  is  a  satisfac- 
tion from  them  as  they  are  constituent  parts  of  His  body.  The 
beHever  is  one  with  Christ  as  truly  as  he  was  one  with  Adam. 
He  dies  with  Christ  as  truly  as  he  died  with  Adam.  And 
Christ's  righteousness  is  his  as  truly  as  Adam's  sin  was  his. 
In  baptism,  therefore,  believers  are  represented  as  dying  with 
Christ.  And  as  "the  death  oi  Christ  was  the  means  by  which 
sin  was  destroyed  and  His  burial  was  the  proof  of  the  reality 
of  Christ's  death,  christians  are,  therefore,  represented  as 
buried  with  Christ  by  baptism  into  His  death,  in  token  that 
they  really  died  with  Him.  "Therefore,  continues  the  apostle, 
we  are  buried  with  Christ  by  baptism  into  His  death,  that  like 
as  Christ  was  raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  tlie 
Father,  even  so  we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of  life."  If, 
then,  we  are  partakers  of  all  the  benefits  of  Christ's  death  we 
s'hould  also  seek  to  participate  in  all  the  benefits  of  His  resur- 
rection. Our  baptism,  therefore,  is  first,  the  figure  of  our  com- 
plete deliverance  from  the  guilt  of  sin,  signifying  that  God 
places  to  our  account  the  death  of  Christ  as  our  owu  death ; 
and  it  is  also  a  figure  of  that  purification  and  resurrection  to 
the  service  of  God,"  to  secure  which  Christ  both  died  and  rose 
and  revived  again  that  He  might  be  the  Lord  not  of  the  dead 
but  of  the  living. 

The  very  object  and  design  of  the  gospel,  therefore,  was  to 
deliver  men  from  sin,  and  all  who  are  baptized  are  baptized  in 
order  that  they  may  be  united  to  Christ,  become  the  recipients 
of  His  doctrines,  and  expectants  of  the  blessing  He  has  to 
bestow.  Of  these  all  who  truly  believe  are  made  actual  par- 
ticipants, and  of  these  all  who  are  baptized,  whether  infants  or 
adults,  receive  the  offer,  pledge  and  promise  if  they  truly 
believe  and  embrace  the  gospel. 

Such,  brethren,  is  the  unspeakable  value  and  comfort  of 
these  passages  which  many  would  pervert  to  the  purposes  of 

28— Vol.  X. 


434  ARTICLES   OX    BAPTISM. 

sectarian  bigotry  and  exclusiveness,  -but  in  which  all  who  truly 
receive  Christ  can  rejoice  believing  that  the  promise  is  not  only 
to  them  but  also  to  their  children.  Let  us,  then,  give  all  dili- 
gence that  we  and  our  children  having  such  glorious  promises 
left  us,  may  not  even  seem  to  come  short,  and  thus  will  God  be 
glorified  by  our  baptism  and  our  faith  and  our  own  hearts 
sanctified  and  saved. 


ARTICLE  X. 

The  Arguments  for  Immersion  Answered. 
Rom.  14:5. 

Let  every  man  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind. 

This  is  a  general  rule  laid  down  by  the  apostle  for  the  uni- 
versal guidance  of  men  in  reference  to  all  possible  questions 
of  duty. 

The  precept  therefore  implies: 

1.  The  right  of  private  judgment. 

Judgment  is  a  characteristic  of  man's  intellectual  nature. 
It  is  that  faculty  by  which  man  is  enabled  to  compare  ideas 
and  ascertain  the  relations  of  terms  and  propositions  so  as  to 
find  their  argument  or  disargument  and  thus  attain  to  truth. 
It  is  given  to  supply  the  place  of  certain  knowledge  and  to 
enable  us  to  ascertain  and  discover  it.  The  judgment  is  a 
power  or  faculty,  but  no  more.  It  is  therefore  naturally  igno- 
rant and  uninformed  and  must — so  long  and  so  far  as  it 
remains  in  this  condition — as  certainly  lead  a  man  to  erroneous 
conclusions  as  the  eye  would  lead  him  astray  when  enveloped 
in  darkness  or  in  mist.  Judgment  also  may  be  prejudiced  as 
well  as  blind,  when  its  decisions  are  biased  by  partial  consid- 
erations. Judgment  therefore  is  the  capacity  for  determining 
what  is  truth — but  it  is  not  the  informing  faculty  nor  the 
standard  of  truth  and  duty. 

This  faculty  of  judgment  being  given  to  every  man,  it 
becomes  the  duty  of  every  man  to  use  it  for  the  purpose  of 
ascertaining  in  every  case  in  which  it  is  necessary  for  him  to 
act,  or  judge,  what  is  truth.  Thus  to  employ  his  judgment 
is  the  right  of  every  man  because  it  is  what  God  has  made 
it  the  privilege  and  the  duty  of  every  man  to  do  by  implanting 
this  faculty  within  him.  No  other  man  therefore  can  ascer- 
tain for  his  neighbour  what  is  his  duty  or  determine  what  it 
is  right  for  him  to  believe. 

Inasmuch,  therefore,  as  the  judgment  is  naturally  ignorant, 
it  is  our  duty  to  weigh  and  compare  all  the  facts  connected 
with  the  subject  matter  of  our  opinions.  And  as  the  judg- 
ment  is  liable  to  persuasion,  prejudice   and   error,   we  must 


436  ARTICLES   ON    BAPTISM. 

endeavour  to  exercise  all  patience,  candour  and  impartiality 
in  such  investigations. 

An  opinion  framed  without  such  examination  is  not  a  judg- 
ment, but  a  delusion,  and  can  never  lead  to  a  full  and  thorough 
conviction  of  truth  and  duty. 

But  if,  my  hearers,  this  is  the  case  in  regard  to  all  matters 
of  opinion  and  practice,  how  much  more  is  it  the  case  as  it 
regards  the  "all  things  whatsoever  Christ  has  commanded"  to 
be  believed  and  performed. 

Now  among  these  things  which  are  positively  enjoined  by 
Christ  one  is  that  we  should  become  open  disciples  of  His  by 
baptism  into  His  name.  The  reception  of  this  ordinance  of 
baptism  is  made  necessary  to  an  introduction  to  Christ's 
Church  and  an  open  profession  of  Christ's  cause. 

Such,  however,  is  the  natural  ignorance  of  our  judgment 
and  its  liability  through  partiality,  prejudice,  inattention,  or 
some  other  cause,  to  come  to  different  conclusions  about  the 
same  subjects — that  between  those  who  are  honest,  conscien- 
tious and  solicitous  to  know  and  discharge  what  is  duty — there 
are  very  different,  and  indeed  opposite,  conclusions  in  refer- 
ence to  baptism. 

This  difference  respects,  in  the  first  place,  the  subjects  of 
baptism— one  party  affirming  that  only  adults  ought  to  receive 
baptism,  and  the  other  that  infants  as  well  as  adults  are  proper 
subjects  of  the  ordinance. 

On  this  point  I  have  on  several  occasions  presented  grounds 
on  which  the  latter  opinion  is  maintained  and  acted  upon  by 
ninety-nine  one-hundredth  of  the  nominally  christian  world. 

But  this  difference  affects  also,  in  the  second  place,  the 
mode  of  baptism — one  party  affirming  that  it  ought  to  be,  and 
can  only  rightly  be,  performed  by  immersion ;  and  the  other — 
including  nearly  the  same  majority  of  the  christian  world  in 
all  ages — affirming  that  a  proper  mode,  if  not  the  only  proper 
mode  of  baptism,  is  by  affusion,  sprinkling  or  pouring. 

On  this  point  I  have  never  formally  addressed  you.  Rut 
as  it  is  my  duty  to  present  evidence  before  you  on  all  the  things 
Christ  has  positively  and  plainly  commanded,  so  that  in  the 
exercise  of  your  own  judgment  you  may  be  "fully  persuaded 
in  your  own  mind,"  I  will  avail  myself  of  this  occasion  to  offer 


ARTICLES  ON    IIAPTISM.  437 

some  observations  on  this  point,  especially  as  none  are  more 
diligent  in  diffusing  their  peculiar  means,  or  more  frequent  in 
preaching  upon  them,  than  those  who  adopt  the  mode  of 
immersion  in  baptism. 

I  will  therefore,  at  this  time,  consider  the  weight  of  the 
arguments  employed  in  defense  of  this  opinion. 

And  as  a  fair  beginning,  I  would  state  that  if  one  clear  case 
of  immersion  can  be  produced  from  the  records  of  Scripture, 
I  am  prepared  to  admit  that  immersion  is  at  least  one  proper 
mode  of  administering  the  ordinance ;  and  if  such  a  case  of 
undoubted  immersion  can  be  sustained  by  one  clear  and 
unequivocal  precept  enjoining  that  form,  I  will  admit  that 
immersion  is  the  only  proper  mode  of  baptism.  No  such  fact, 
however,  is  adduced  and  no  such  precept  found.  That  certain 
facts  and  declarations  are,  however,  to  be  so  interpreted,  we 
are  urged  by  our  Baptist  brethren  to  admit  by  eight  arguments 
tinder  one  or  other  of  which  all  that  is  pleaded  on  the  part  of 
our  Baptist  brethren  may,  I  think,  be  placed.* 

I.  And  first  it  is  alleged  that  this  question  can  be  decided 
by  the  English  version  of  the  Bible,  and  by  those  who  only 
understand  the  English  language,  and  that  from  this  alone  it 
is  manifest  that  immersion  is  the  true  and  only  proper  mode 
of  baptism.  To  make  this  appear  a  reference  is  made  to  such 
phrases  as  going  down  into  the  water — coming  up  out  of  the 
water,  baptizing  in  the  river,  and  being  buried  with  Christ  in 
baptism,  all  which  it  is  said  clearly  sustain  the  above  position. 

But  to  this  we  reply:  1.  That  as  the  terms  which  describe 
this  ordinance  of  baptism  are  not  translated  in  the  English 
version,  but  are  retained  in  their  Greek  form,  as  are  the  words 
baptize,  baptism,  and  it  is  evident  that  no  one  can  have  a  cor- 
rect understanding  of  them  except  by  inquiring  what  these 
words  really  imply.  2.  But,  secondly,  it  is  also  true  that  in 
many  cases  the  apparent  sense  of  the  words  used  in  the 
English  version  is  not  the  true  one  (e.  g.,  this  is  my  body), 
o.  But,  thirdly,  we  remark  this  rule,  were  it  a  proper  one. 
would  from  other  passages  of  the  English  Bible  lead  ordinary 
readers  to  conclude  that  immersion  could  not  have  been  the 

*I  adopt  in  this  argument  the  arguments  of  Mr.  Thorn,  and  use  also  his 
order  and  words  when  necessary. 


438  ARTICLES  ON   BAPTISM. 

original  mode  of  baptism.  Thus  we  read  of  baptizing  with 
water — of  multitudes  being  baptized  in  the  place  where  John 
abode— or  in  a  city,  crowded  with  persecutors — of  baptizing 
a  family  in  a  prison,  at  midnight — and  other  individuals  in 
private  divelling  houses — of  divers  baptisms — of  the  Hebrews 
being  baptized  on  the  dry  bed  of  the  Red  Sea — and  of  the 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  4.  But,  fourthly,  we  reply  to  this 
argument  that  if  it  is  a  sacred  one,  it  proves  that  immersion 
cannot  be  the  proper  mode  of  baptism  because,  as  has  been 
seen,  almost  all  those  in  every  age  of  the  church  who  are  best 
able  to  judge  on  this  matter  from  the  perusal  of  their  ver- 
nacular versions,  many  of  them  speaking  and  writing  in  Greek, 
have  decided  against  immersion  and  in  favor  of  sprinkling, 
and  their  practice  and  belief  can  be  pronounced  ignorant, 
prejudiced,  or  hypocritical,  on  no  grounds  which  will  not  apply 
as  truly  to  the  conduct  and  opinion  of  those  who  adopt  the 
plan  of  immersion. 

II.  A  second  argument  on  which  the  practice  of  immersion 
is  confidently  based  is  the  alleged  admissions  of  pasdobaptist 
writers  in  favour  of  that  mode  of  performing  the  ordinance. 

Now,  I  admit  that  it  is  true  that  some  men  of  great  learning 
and  authority,  who  were  members  of  psedobaptist  churches, 
have  given  it  as  their  opinion  that  the  mode  of  immersion  is 
favoured  by  the  meaning  of  the  original  word  baptiso  and  by 
the  practice  of  the  ancient  church.  Is  then  the  judgment  of 
such  men  authoritative  as  to  such  matters?  If  it  is,  then  it  is 
also  true  that  these  divines,  almost  to  a  man,  as  confidently 
believed  that  infants  were  baptized  by  the  apostles  and  by  the 
primitive  christians  as  that  the  original  mode,  or  one  of  the 
original  modes,  was  probably  dipping.  And  if,  therefore,  the 
opinion  of  these  writers  are  authoritative,  it  substantiates  the 
apostolic  origin  of  infant  baptism,  their  capacity  for  judging 
in  the  one  case  being  as  great  as  in  the  other. 

But  further,  in  reply  to  this  argument,  we  remark  that  too 
much  is  attributed  to  those  authors.  To  be  of  any  value  to 
the  cause  of  immersion  it  must  be  shown  that  these  writers 
were  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  the  only  proper  meaning  of 
the  term  baptize  is  to  immerse,  and  that  the  only  mode  of 
baptism  practiced  by  the  apostles  was  that  of  immersion.    But 


ARTICLES   ON    BAPTISM.  439 

this  was  not  the  opinion  of  the  writers  alluded  to.  Mr.  Barth 
himself  candidly  admits  that  they  held  "that  baptico  means  to 
pour  or  sprinkle  as  well  as  to  dip ;— that  the  apostles  baptized 
by  sprinkling  as  well  as  by  immersion ;— and  that  even  if  dip- 
ping had  been  the  exclusive  mode  originally  practiced  the 
design  of  the  institution  of  baptism  is  as  effectually,  and  more 
satisfactorily,  accomplished  by  aspersion,"  or  sprinkling. 

And  still  further,  let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  argument 
from  the  admissions  of  writers  is  a  two-edged  sword  that  will 
cut  both  ways,  since  similar  admissions  can  be  shown  on  the 
part  of  Baptist  writers.  Thus,  for  instance,  the  late  and  justly 
celebrated  John  Foster,  though  he  lived  and  died  a  Baptist 
minister,  "never  administered  nor  even  witnessed,  in  mature 
life,  the  ordinance  of  baptism,  and  was  known  to  entertain 
doubts  respecting  its  perpetuity;"*  while  the  invincible 
champion  of  free  and  open  communion  with  all  evangelical 
christians,  in  opposition  to  the  principle  of  making  immersion 
a  term  of  communion  was  the  still  more  celebrated  Baptist 
writer,  the  Rev.  Robert  Hall. 

III.  The  third  argument  for  immersion  is  the  alleged 
authority  in  its  favor  of  the  history  of  the  church. 

But  there  is  no  proof,  I  would  reply,  of  dipping,  in  a  single 
instance,  for  a  great  number  of  years  after  the  death  of  the 
latest  apostle,  nor  until  this  institution  had  confessedly  been 
corrupted  by  superstitious  attributes,  modifications,  and 
appendages,  nearly  as  much  so  as  at  present  in  the  Romish 
Hierarchy.  Neither  does  it  appear  that  dipping  was  deemed 
essential  to  christian  baptism,  by  any  person  during  the  first 
four  centuries,  or,  indeed,  at  any  subsequent  period,  by  the 
general  body  of  christians.  A  citation  or  tvv^o  will  prove  this. 
About  the  year  130  Justin  Martyr  distinctly  compares  the 
sprinkling  of  the  Gentiles  with  christian  baptism — making  not 
the  slightest  allusion  to  dipping  as  a  part  of  the  ordinance. 
In  265,  Cyprian  says  that  "sprinkling  is  sufficient  instead  of 
immersion."  About  300,  Lactantius  writes,  "that  he  might 
save  the  Gentiles  by  baptism,  that  is,  by  "the  perfusion  of 
purifying  water."  And  about  380,  AuGusTiNF,  says,  "the 
person  to  be  baptized  is  either  sprinkled  with  water  or  dipped 

*Life  and  Correspondence,  Vol.  I,  p.  61. 


440  ARTICLES   ON    BAPTISM. 

in  it."  Therefore,  as  far  as  church  history  is  concerned,  the 
earhest  evidence  is  in  favour  of  sprinkling  only ;  while  our 
opponents  have  no  more  authority  for  dipping,  from  this 
source,  than  Romanists  and  Episcopalians  have  for  employing 
sponsors,  making  the  sign  of  the  cross,  using  spittle,  oil,  exor- 
cism, and  inculcating  baptismal  regeneration — for  all  these  are 
coeval  with  the  first  notice  of  baptismal  immersion. 

Dipping,  I  admit,  was  introduced  early;  but  then  it  should 
seem  as  only  a  part  of  this  rite — to  indicate  more  distinctly, 
in  the  judgment  of  half -evangelized  professors,  the  putting  off, 
or  washing  away,  the  filth  of  the  flesh,  and  was,  in  the  case 
of  adults,  generally,  if  not  invariably,  done  by  themselves 
alone ;  while  pouring  or  sprinkling  was  always  added  by 
another,  to  represent  putting  on  the  new  man  or  the  outpour- 
ing of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  them.  The  usual  mode,  from  the 
second  century  downwards,  as  evinced  by  ancient  carved  and 
painted  representations — the  best  possible  evidence  in  such  a 
case — was  this :  The  candidate  stood  in  the  water  up  to  his 
ankles,  knees,  or  middle,  and  the  minister,  from  his  hand  or 
a  vessel,  poured  the  element  on  his  head.  So  that,  upon  the 
whole,  history  is  far  more  against  the  mode  of  our  opponents 
than  for  it.  Even  the  Greek  and  other  eastern  churches  (on 
the  traditionary  knowledge  and  practice  of  which  the  Baptists 
talk  so  eloquently)  never  administer  this  ceremony  without 
pouring  or  sprinkling,  as  the  last  or  most  important  part  of  it, 
and,  in  the  case  of  adults,  as  the  whole  of  the  rite.  In  some 
oriental  communions  it  is  still  customary  to  take  their  children 
to  a  river  and  to  pour  or  sprinkle  the  running  water  upon 
them — as  the  entire  act  of  baptizing. 

The  history  of  the  church,  however,  is  far  more  explicit 
and  decided  in  favour  of  the  early  and  uninterrupted  baptism 
of  infants  than  it  is  of  a  partial  immersion — in  fact  on  this 
point  there  can  hardly  be  a  second  opinion.  So  that  from 
this  argument  we  conclude  the  certainty  of  infant  baptism 
and  the  equal  certainty  that  while  dipping  was  early  introduced 
as  a  part  of  the  ceremony  of  baptism,  sprinkling  or  pouring 
was  its  most  essential  part. 

IV.  In  the  fourth  place  the  advocates  for  immersion  assure 
us  that  the  Greek  verb,  baptize,  means  always  and  only  to  dip. 


ARTICLES  ON    BAPTISM. 


441 


proving,  beyond  all  doubt,  that  the  apostles  really  dipped  their 
converts  under  water  in  baptism. 

1.  This  assumption  is  deemed  the  stronghold  of  our  Baptist 
brethren,  who  consequently  labour  to  defend  it  with  their 
utmost  skill  and  perseverance.  But  that  it  is  utterly  untenable 
will  be  rendered  apparent  by  the  subsequent  remarks,  which 
I  give  you  in  the  words  of  Mr.  Thorn.  I  shall  give  you,  in 
the  first  place,  an  alphabetical  list  of  the  translations  or 
adopted  renderings  of  this  word  baptizo,  by  four  or  five  of 
their  own  leading  writers ;  who,  you  may  naturally  suppose, 
have  not  selected  passages  nor  given  versions  more  to  the 
damage  of  their  cause,  than  they  were  absolutely  compelled 
by  controversial  necessity : — 


Bathe 

Dyed 

Overwhelmed 

Sprinkled 

Besmear 

Fill 

Plunged 

Stained 

Caused 

Given  up  to 

Pour 

Sink 

Coloured 

Imbue 

Pur  if  J' 

Steep 

Covered 

Immersed 

Put 

Swallowed  up 

Crushed 

Infected 

Put  into 

Thrust 

Daubed 

Involved 

Quenched 

Tinged 

Dip 

Laid  under 

Redden 

Washed 

Drawing  water 

Let  down 

Run  through 

Wetted : 

Drank  much 

Oppressed 

Smeared 

Drowned 

Overhead  &  ears 

Soaked 

(in  all  43.) 

2.  Observe,    secondly,    that    in    seven    Greek    lexicons    and 

Montanus'  version  of  the  scriptures,  no  less  than  twenty-three 

Latin  words  are  employed  to  express  the  import  of  the  term 

baptize  in  its  various  connexions. 

Abluo,  wash  awayHAURio,  draw  up    Madekacio,  wet      Pcrgo,  purge 
CoLO,  colour  Imbuo,  imbue        Maculo,  pollute      R'utiESCo,  redden 

Demergo,  dive        Immergo,  plunge  Mergo,  dip  Suemergo,  put  under 

Duco,  lead  Impleo,  fill  Mundo.  cleanse      Terreo,  affright 

Fico,  pierce  Intingo,  dye         Oeruo,  overwhelmTiNCo,  stain 

Fuco,  paint  Lavo,  wash  Pereo,  perish 

?K  Again,  in  the  third  place,  the  Baptists  say,  "that  Tingo 
and  Baptizo  signify  the  same  thing" — and  say,  in  four  Latin 
Dictionaries,  Tingo  is  explained  by  no  less  than  fourteen  dif- 
ferent English  verbs : — 


Bathe 

Imbue 

Sprinkle 

Tinge 

Colour 

Immerse 

Stain 

Wash 

Dip 

Moisten 

Tincture 

Wet 

Dye 

Paint 

. 

4.  And  Baptist  friends  also  tell  us,  that  "The  Hebrew  Tahal 
is  of  the  same  signification  as  baptizo" — and  in  five  Hebrew 
lexicons  this  word  is  defined  by  no  less  than  ten  distinct 
terms : — 


442  ARTICLES  ON   BAPTISM. 

Baptize  Dive  Immerse  Merge  Plunge 

Dip  Dye  Infect  Intinge  Tinge 

And  these  definitions  of  the  Greek,  Latin  and  Hebrew  verbs, 
are,  you  perceive,  not  only  various,  but  the  majority  of  them 
is  greatly  in  favour  of  applying  the  element  to  the  object. 
Now,  it  is  clear  that  if  the  word  baptizo  have  so  many  appli- 
cations, and  represent  actions  so  opposite  to  that  of  putting  a 
person  under  water,  and  instantly  raising  him  out  of  it,  or  if  it 
be  synonymous  with  Tabal  and  Tingo;  with  what  propriety 
can  our  opponents  assert  that  it  means  always  and  only  to  dip 
or  immerse?  As  to  its  literal  and  primary  import,  I  have  no 
hesitation  in  asserting,  that  it  is  not  to  dip.  It  will  be  found 
that  the  most  ancient  Greek  writers  never  employ  it  for  the  act 
of  immersion,  or,  at  least,  for  one  man  dipping  another.  The 
sense  they  attach  to  it  is  that  of  staining,  colouring,  dyeing 
with  different  colours,  painting,  anointing,  and  the  like ;  clearly 
excluding  the  idea  of  dipping,  which  is  evidently  a  later  and 
secondary  application. 

V.  The  fifth  argument  in  favor  of  immersion  is  an  appeal 
to  the  meaning  of  the  prepositions — in,  into,  and  out  of,  the 
water — in  proof  of  apostolical  dipping;  asserting  that  if  the 
baptized  went  into  the  water — were  in  the  water — and  came 
up  out  of  the  water — they  must  have  been  dipped  under 
water. 

This  argument,  says  Mr.  Thorn,  founded  on  the  supposed 
sense  of  these  words,  is  equally  fallacious  with  the  preceding; 
and  though  constantly  preached  up,  is  candidly  abandoned  by 
our  ablest  opponents  (at  least,  in  books  and  debates  with  intel- 
ligent p^edobaptists,)  as  not  of  the  slightest  authority  in  this 
question.  And  with  good  reason.  For  take  the  words  as  they 
stand  in  our  English  version  of  the  New  Testament,  and  they 
afford  no  plausible  evidence  that  the  baptized  were  put  under 
water,  or  that  they  were  more  than  six  inches  deep  in  it.  A 
horse  goes  down  into  the  river  to  drink,  stands  in  the  water 
v/hile  performing  his  potations,  and  then  ascends  up  out  of 
the  water — and  all  without  a  total  dipping!  Being  in  the 
water,  and  under  it,  are  very  different  positions ! 

The  prepositions  in  question  are  translations  of  four  Greek 
words:— Apo,  rendered  out  of,  in  Matt.  iii.  16;  En,  rendered 


ARTICLES  ON  BAPTISM.  443 

in,  Matt.  iii.  6 ;  Eis  and  Ek,  rendered  into  and  out  of,  Acts 
viii.  38,  39.  Perhaps  you  will  be  surprised  to  learn  that  in 
Schleusner's  celebrated  Lexicon  of  the  Greek  Testament,  the 
first  is  said  to  have  20  different  senses ;  the  second  3G ;  the 
third  26 ;  and  the  last  24.  Again,  the  translators  of  the 
English  Testament  have  rendered  the  first  by  2-4  different 
words;  the  second  by  32;  the  third  by  36;  and  the  last  by  32. 
Finally,  the  word  Apo  is  translated  by  from  374  times ;  En, 
by  at,  on,  or  zvith,  313  times;  EiS,  by  to  or  unto,  538  times; 
and  Ek,  by  from,  186  times.  And  it  may  be  added  that  learned 
men  deem  such  to  be  the  current  senses  of  these  respective 
prepositions,  especially  of  the  first  three  of  them. 

With  such  incontrovertible  facts  before  him,  what  person 
of  common  sense  and  candour  will  contend  that  these  words 
prove  the  baptized  to  have  been  in  the  water  at  all  ?  The  sum 
of  the  inspired  language  is,  that  they  went  to  the  water,  were 
baptized  with  the  water,  and  then  returned  from  the  water. 
It  is  true,  descending  to  the  water,  and  ascending  from  it,  were 
requisite  when  persons  were  baptized  out  of  doors  with  run- 
ning water,  which  is  always  found  in  channels  lower  than  the 
adjoining  land — and  this  is  all  the  language  before  us 
expresses.  That  these  terms  are  occasionally  (though  not 
generally)  used  in  other  senses,  is  evident  from  other  inspired 
passages.  But  unless  our  opponents  could  prove  that  they 
have  only  one  meaning  each,  and  that  the  same  as  conveyed 
in  our  English  version,  in  conjunction  with  this  ceremony,  they 
can  establish  nothing,  even  apparently,  in  their  favour,  from 
the  employment  of  them.  It  may  be  added,  as  a  significant 
circumstance,  that  people  baptized  in  cities,  houses,  and  vil- 
lages, where  running  streams  are  not  found,  are  never  said  to 
go  down  even  to  the  water,  or  to  come  up  from  it;  which 
would  have  been  the  case  had  they  really  been  dipped  but 
ankle  deep. 

VI.  The  sixth  argument,  founded  on  the  places  selected  by 
John  for  baptizing,  and  which  it  is  thought  prove  that  his 
mode  must  have  been  dipping;  since,  had  pouring  or  sprinkling 
been  his  method,  water  sufficient  for  such  a  purpose  might 
have  been  obtained  any  where. 


444  ARTICLES  ON   BAPTISM. 

It  may  be  stated,  in  reply,  that  water  about  three  feet  deep, 
pure  and  quiet,  is  best  adapted  for  immersing  grown-up 
people — and  that  were  it  much  deeper  or  shallower,  or  foul, 
or  much  agitated,  it  would  be  unfit  for  such  a  purpose — ren- 
dering immersion  exceedingly  troublesome,  if  not  impossible. 
This  specification  we  gather  from  the  writings  and  practice 
of  our  opponents ;  and  by  keeping  it  fully  in  view,  we  shall 
at  once  perceive  how  unsuited  the  river  Jordan  must  have  been 
for  dipping  the  multitude  by  John  the  Baptist. 

The  baptizing  spot  has  been  visited  and  minutely  examined 
by  many  intelligent  and  credible  travellers,  who  tell  us  that 
here  "the  river  Jordan  is  of  considerable  width — the  water 
turbulent — the  bottom  rocky — the  edges  of  the  bank  abrupt — 
and  the  depth  about  six  or  seven  feet  close  to  the  shore." 
Volney  says,  "Its  Ijreadth  between  the  two  principal  lakes,  in 
few  places,  exceeds  sixty  or  eighty  feet,  but  its  depth  is  about 
ten  or  twehe."  Monro  says,  "The  river  here,  at  the  baptizing 
spot,  forms  an  angle,  etc. ;  the  width  of  it  might  be  thirty-five 
yards,  and  the  stream  zvas  running  zvith  the  precipitous  fury 
of  a  rapid ;  the  bank  ivas  steep,  shelving  off  abruptly  into  deep 
water.'"  Thompson  says,  "It  is  exceeding  deep,  even  at  the 
edge  of  the  inner  bank.''  Dr.  Shazv  computes  it,  "About  thirty 
yards  broad,  and  three  yards  in  depth."  Chateaubriand  found 
the  Jordan  to  be  "si.v  or  seven  feet  deep  close  to  the  shore." 

judging,  then,  from  the  places  chosen,  and  the  fonts  con- 
structed for  immersion,  by  our  opponents,  and,  indeed,  from 
the  nature  of  the  case — unless  men  and  women  in  John's  time 
were  twice  as  tall  as  at  the  present  day ! — I  contend  that  dip- 
].)ing  persons  in  the  Jordan  was  altogether  impracticable;  and 
unhesitatingly  conclude  that  they  were  only  affused  or 
sprinkled  with  the  water  of  it. 

But  if  the  waters  of  the  Jordan  were  too  great  for  immer- 
sion, those  of  Enon  were  equally  unsuitable  in  other  respects. 
Enon,  as  the  word  imports,  was  nothing  more  than  a  well,  or, 
as  described  by  a  Baptist  writer,  "a  cavernous  spring,  called 
the  Dove's  Eye ;  and  such  were  of  great  account  in  Judea, 
especially  in  some  seasons."  Robinson. — "It  is  remarkable 
that  no  such  place,  distinguished  by  an  abundance  of  water, 
can  be  discovered  at  this  dav."  Calmet. — "It  is  most  likely  that 


ARTICLES  ON    BAPTISM.  4^5 

Enon  was  to  Salim  what  Jacob's  well  was  to  the  inhabitants 
of  Samaria — a  place  of  drawing  water.  At  all  events,  it  is 
clear  that  John  could  not  have  quitted  the  Jordan  for  Enon 
on  account  of  the  quantity  of  water  it  contained;  for  surely 
he  had  enough  in  the  river,  and  more  than  in  this  insignificant 
well — which,  at  best,  must  have  been  a  most  inconvenient  place 
for  immersing  many  people." 

The  original  terms,  rendered  much  water,  are  literally 
"many  waters."  They  do  not  designate  merely  quantity  of 
water,  simply  considered  as  deep  and  abounding,  but  num.erous 
waves,  fountains,  or  streams,  however  small  the  amount  of 
water  in  each.  Had  a  large  body  of  water  been  meant,  other 
terms  would  have  been  employed  to  express  it.  Those  used, 
no  more  indicate  that  the  water  was  adapted  for  dipping  than 
for  sprinkling. 

VII.  The  seventh  argument  for  immersion  is  founded  upon 
the  allusions  made  to  baptism,  especially  those  in  which  it  is 
compared  to  a  burial. 

To  this  argument,  however,  I  have  replied  in  a  special  dis- 
course, in  which  I  have  endeavoured  to  show  that  these  pas- 
sages, instead  of  favouring,  are  most  decidedly  opposed  to  the 
mode  of  immersion,  since  if  there  is  in  them  any  reference  to 
the  mode  of  baptism  at  all  the  original  idea  of  burying  is  not 
the  lowering  of  the  corpse  into  the  grave,  but  casting  earth 
upon  it  and  thereby  raising  a  heap  over  it,  while  the  persons 
to  whom  the  apostles  wrote  were  accustomed  to  burn  and  not 
to  bury  their  dead,  and  Christ  our  Saviour  was  deposited  in 
a  room  hewn  out  of  the  rock  and  laid  upon  a  side-bench,  a 
stone  being  rolled  not  upon,  but  against  the  door  which  was 
low  and  small. 

VIII.  The  last  argument  for  immersion,  and  on  which  great 
stress  is  laid,  is  that  as  baptism  is  confessedly  a  positive  insti- 
tution, we  can  on  no  account  depart  from  the  practice  and 
precept  of  the  apostles. 

But,  in  the  first  place,  is  it  clearly  shewn  that  the  practice 
and  precept  of  the  apostles  is  in  favour  of  immersion?  Most 
assuredly  not.  How,  then,  are  we  to  follow  that  which  has 
not  been  set  before  us  or  commanded?  And  can  it  be  imag- 
ined that  the  apostles  would  have  left  that  which  was  essential 


446  ARTICLES   ON   BAPTISM. 

to  the  very  administration  of  baptism  so  obscure  that  even 
those  who  can  agree  about  every  other  doctrine  and  ordinance 
of  the  gospel  cannot  come  to  the  same  conclusion  on  this  point  ? 
May  the  apostles  not  then  have  left  the  mode  of  baptism  uncer- 
tain and  indefinite  that  it  might  be  adapted  to  circumstances? 
Certain  it  is  that  the  argument  is  not  universally  true  that 
what  the  apostles  did  and  approved  we  must,  and  may  not 
therefore  be  true  in  this  case,  or  else  the  advocates  of  immer- 
sion are  themselves  involved  in  common  condemnation.  For 
do  they,  I  ask,  manifest  a  rigid  consistency  themselves,  and 
devoutly  observe  all  the  positive  institutions  and  clear 
examples  of  the  New  Testament :  "Giving  each  other  the  kiss 
of  charity — holding  feasts  of  love — washing  one  another's 
feet — and  anointing  the  sick  with  oil  ?"  No,  alas !  these  are 
all  omitted.  Can  they  tell  us  exactly  how  dipping  was  done 
in  the  primitive  churches — whether  it  was  entire  or  partial — 
triune  or  single — backward  or  forward — in  the  name  of  the 
Trinity  or  of  Jesus  only?  Whether  the  candidates  were 
clothed  or  naked,  in  their  ordinary  apparel,  or  in  dresses,  long, 
loose,  and  with  leads  at  the  bottom,  made  for  the  occasion? 
Whether  there  were  double  vestries,  furnished  with  fires,  tubs, 
attendants,  and  wine  to  accommodate  and  revive  the  men  and 
women  on  coming  up  out  of  the  water?  Not  they,  any  more 
than  an  infant  eight  days  old !  With  what  propriety  then  can 
they  lecture  us  on  the  assumed  offence  of  departing  from  apos- 
tolical practice,  when  they  themselves  are  confessedly  at  sea 
respecting  it?  But  enough  on  a  point  which  is  of  no  material 
importance  in  this  discussion — and  of  no  value  to  our  oppo- 
nents. 

Such  then  are  the  arguments  in  favour  of  immersion  as  the 
mode  of  christian  baptism,  and  such,  as  we  must  think,  is  their 
manifest  insufficiency  and  inconclusiveness. 

From  the  discussion  we  may  learn : 

1.  The  weakness  and  imperfection  of  man's  reason. 

2.  The  necessity  and  duty  of  christian  charity,  forbearance 
and  candour. 

3.  The  injury  done  to  christian  union  and  love  and  to 
christian  influence  by  making  anything  essential  as  a  term  of 


ARTICLES   ON    HAPTISM.  447 

christian   communion   besides   the   great    fundamental   truths 
which  lie  at  the  basis  of  a  sinner's  hopes. 

4.  As  our  practice  and  belief  are  unshaken  by  the  very 
strongest  arguments  by  which  they  are  assailed,  we  may 
remain  thoroughly  persuaded  in  our  own  minds. 

5.  Let  us  finally,  therefore,  look  to  baptism  not  in  its  letter, 
but  in  its  spirit  and  endeavour  to  improve  it  for  ourselves  and 
our  children  to  the  production  of  all  its  designed  advantages. 


The 
Commercial  Benefit  of  Christianity 


IN  PRODUCING 


Integrity,  Diligence  and 
Moderation 


A  DISCOURSE 

BY 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 
Charleston.  S.  C. 


August,  1841. 
29— Vol.  X. 


THE  COMMERCIAL   BENEFIT  OF 
CHRISTIANITY. 


Rom.  12:11. 

Not  slothful  in  business,  fervent  in  spirit — serving  the  Lord. 

The  advantages  of  commerce  are  manifold  and  obvious.  It 
promotes  the  intercourse  of  nations.  It  enlarges  the  bounda- 
ries of  knowledge.  It  contributes  to  the  welfare  of  mankind 
by  the  interchange  of  commodities,  supplying  the  wants  of  one 
country  by  the  excess  of  another.  It  calls  into  action  the  ener- 
gies of  the  ibold,  the  skilful,  and  the  enterprising.  And  what, 
in  the  estimate  of  the  christian  philanthropist,  constitutes  its 
highest  excellence,  it  opens  facilities  for  the  introduction  of  the 
gosi>el  and  the  extension  of  its  blessings  from  civil  and  reli- 
gious freedom  into  all  lands  and  nations. 

And  yet,  while  this  is  true,  is  it  not  a  remarkable  proof  of  the 
heavenly  character  of  the  gospel  that  while  at  the  period  of  its 
introduction  commerce  was  almost  unknown  and  purposely 
avoided  by  those  to  whom  it  was  primarily  addressed,  it  has 
nevertheless  pushed  on  the  present  commercial  era  of  the  world 
and  laid  the  foundations  for  that  character  by  which  commerce 
is  at  once  originated  and  sustained.  To  the  success  of  men  in 
the  pursuits  of  commerce,  integrity,  diligence  and  moderation 
are  indispensably  requisite,  and  whatsoever  other  qualities  as 
adjuncts  or  modifications  of  these  may  be  included  in  our  prin- 
ciples of  action.  Now  these  virtues  are  all  inculcated  in  the 
Sacred  Scriptures  of  both  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  as 
essential  to  moral  excellence  and  to  success  in  life,  while  in 
other  passages  the  cultivation  of  these  qualities  is  shewn  to  be 
essential  as  an  evidence  and  fruit  of  genuine  piety. 

Let  us  dwell  briefly  on  these  principles  of  conduct. 

And  first  integrity.  This  fundamental  principle — compre- 
hending in  its  wide  extent  fidelity  to  engagements,  punctuality 
in  the  discharge  of  obligations,  fairness  in  dealing — "a  just 
weight  and  full  measure" — accuracy  in  report,  and  universal 
equity  in  all  its  modes  and  ramifications — this  principle,  I  say. 
is  enjoined  in  the  word  of  God  in  a  great  variety  of  forms  l>oth 
prescriptive  and  exemplary.     The  essence  of  them  all  is  found 


452  THK  COMMERCIAL  BENEFIT  OE  CHRISTIANITY, 

in  the  divine  aphorism  of  our  "Great  Teacher,"  "all  things 
whatsoever  ye  would'  that  men  should  do  to  you  do  ye  even  so 
to  them  for  this  is  the  law."  Were  this  most  admirable  mle 
umversally  acted  on,  it  would  banish  for  ever  that  crooked 
policy  which  vitiates  the  purity  of  commercial  intercourse  and 
introduces  interminable  jealousies,  suspicions  and'  discord 
among  men,  even  in  the  ordinary  transactions  of  life.  Of  the 
man)  who  acts  by  this  rule  it  may  be  said  with  the  utmost  truth 
and  emphasis  that  his  word  is  his  bond.  How  difiFerent  from 
him  whose  word  can  never  be  relied  on,  whose  representations 
are  received  with  distrust,  whose  promises  are  never  confided 
in,  and  who,  by  a  series  of  petty  shifts  and  evasions  or  of 
fraudulent  transaction<s  on  a  more  extended  scale  acquires  for 
himself  the  disgraceful  notoriety  of  an  unfair  trader  and  a 
dishonest  man.  The  one  is  a  blessing  to  society,  the  other  a 
curse; — the  one  inspires  confidence,  the  other  destroys  it;  the 
one  diffuses  a  beneficial,  the  other  a  baneful  influence  all 
around  him ;  the  one  is  honest  and  open  as  the  day,  the  other 
dark  and  suspicious  as  the  night ;  by  the  one  the  true  honor  and 
dignity  of  the  mercantile  character  is  sustained  while  by  the 
other  it  is  brought  into  discredit  and  contempt. 

Upon  you,  my  younger  hearers,  especially,  I  want  to  urge 
with  all  the  earnestness,  of  which  I  am  capable,  an  immediate 
attention  to  the  importance  of  unbending  integrity  as  an  essen- 
tial ingredient  in  the  formation  of  your  characters.  Adopt  it 
at  once  and  for  ever,  as  the  foundation  principle  of  all  your 
doings.  Cherish  it  as  a  precious  germ  which  shall  evolve  and 
expand  itself  in  virtuous  action.  Let  it  become  an  element  in 
all  your  thoughts  and  feelings  until  you  acquire  such  a  habit  of 
doing  justly  that  it  shall  be  painful  and  unnatural  for  you  to  act 
in  a  contrary  manner.  Thus  shall  you  lay  a  secure  basis  for 
that  measure  of  prosperity  which,  with  a  due  regard  to  your 
own  best  interests,  authorizes  you  to  expect  and  strive  for ;  and 
what  you  thus  acquire  you  will  enjoy  without  the  stings  of  an 
upbraiding  conscience. 

Diligence — is  the  second  quality  which  is  essential  to  the  com- 
mercial character.  This  is  also  emphatically  recommended  in 
the  Sacred  Dictionary  both  by  precept  and  example.  "Tbe 
desire  of  the  slothful  killeth  him.     The  hand  of  the  diligent 


THK  COMMERCIAL  BENEFIT  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  453 

niaketh  rich.  Be  diligent  in.  busiiiess" — such  are  some  of  its 
many  declarations  and  by  which  it  teaches  that  according  to  the 
estabhshed  laws,  of  social  life,  industry  in  our  proper  calling  is 
the  most  effectual  way  of  attaining  to  success  and  respectability 
in  our  secular  pursuits.  We  are  thus  enjoined  to  secure  perse- 
verance as  well  as  activity — the  habit  of  attention  and  labour. 
No  extensive  purpose  can  be  accomplished,  and  no  great  object 
can  be  attained  by  fitful  and  transient  efforts  however  intense; 
but  only  by  continued  and  patient  application.  And  because 
this  is  so  rare  success  is  also  rare.  In  proportion  as  men  are 
ardent  and  energetic  they  are  exposed  to  failure  in  this  point. 
They  seize  upon  an  object  with  avidity,  amuse  or  interest  them- 
selves with  it  for  a  while,  and  then  are  urged  by  desire  of 
change  or  love  of  novelty  to  relinquish  it  in  favor  of  some  new 
pursuit.  They  enter  upon  an  employment  which  strikes  their 
fancy  with  delight  and  fills  their  hearts  with  promise;  but  it 
soon  becomes  irksome  to  them  by  its  sameness  ;  or  they  are  dis- 
couraged by  little  difficulties  in  the  way — real  or  imaginary, — 
and  then  retire  from  it  in  despair.  Having  heard  the  history 
of  one  and  another  who  have  risen  to  opulence  by  successful 
engagements  in  trade  they  are  naturally  desirous  of  proceeding 
in  the  same  course,  or  at  least  of  reaping  the  same  reward.  But 
here  they  deceive  themselves.  They  are  dazzled  and  attracted 
by  the  result,  hut  overlook  the  means  which  lead  to  it ; — 'Or  after 
a  brief  trial  take  umbrage  at  the  pains  and  labours  which  are 
the  indispensable  conditions  of  success. 

Now,  this  state  of  mind  must  be  overcome,  or  all  expecta- 
tions of  success  from  the  pursuits  of  business  will  end  in  dis- 
appointment. Close  and  unremitted  attention  must  be  given 
during  all  the  time,  which  in  consistency  with  higher  duties  is 
properly  allotted  to  business,  and  to  the  energy  which  excites 
to  action  there  must  be  added  the  diligence  necessary  to  render 
it  effective  and  the  unconquerable  perseverance  which  shall 
carry  it  onward  to  its  desired  consummatiom 

The  third  quahfication  essential  to  the  commercial  character 
is  what  Scripture  denominates  moderation.  This  qualit}'  is 
urged  in  numerous  passages  of  Scripture,  not  only  by  the 
authority  of  the  universal  Sovereign,  but  by  assigning  reasons 
for  the  injunction;  and  reasons,  too,  so  clear  and  powerful  that 


454  THE  COMMERCIAL  BENEFIT  OE  CHRISTIANITY. 

those  who  refuse  obedience  are  chargeable  with  not  only  oppos- 
ing/>r^ro^a?w^^  but  calling  in  question  the  wisdom,  of  the  Most 
High.  "Let  your  moderation."  says  this  inspired  guide,  "be 
known  unto  all  men,"  for  "he  that  maketh  haste  to  be  rich  shall 
not  be  iniTjocent,  but  will  fall  into  temptation  and  a  snare  and 
into  many  foolish  and  hurtful  lusts  which  drown  men  in 
destruction,  and  pierce  them  through  with  many  sorrows." 
These  declarations  are  not  in  unison  with  the  too  prevalent 
spirit  of  the  present  age.  Like  some  of  the  instructions  of  our 
Lord  they  will  be  deemed  hard  sayings,  but  they  are  neverthe- 
less founded  on  the  nature  of  things  and  enforced  by  the 
authority  of  divine  inspiration,  A  too  eager  desire  of  acquisi- 
tion bhnds  the  understanding  to  the  distinction  between  right 
and  wrong,  and  betrays  the  heart  into  an  indifference  as  to  the 
measures  to  be  pursued  or  into  an  adoption,  without  scruple, 
of  such  as  are  evil,  and  thus  leads  to  an  utter  disregard  of  the 
precepts  of  morality,  the  claims  of  benevolence,  and  the  fear  of 
God.  A  selfish  concern  for  his  owni  personal  safety  may  have 
led  the  unhappy  subject  of  this  passion  to  be  cautious  not  to 
ofifend  against  the  letter  of  human  laws  ;  but  no  other  semblance 
of  regard  to  honor  or  to  virtue  can  be  expected  from  him,  or 
is  to  be  discovered  in  his  practice. 

The  rapacious  spirit  of  modern  commerce,  having  thrown 
off  all  moral  restraint,  is  prepared  for  every  species  of  dis- 
honorable artifice  and  therefore  adopts  without  reluotance  or 
hesitation,  measures  of  the  most  unjustifiable  character,  regard- 
less alike  of  the  lives  on  the  property  of  others.  It  is  as  cruel 
as  it  is  undiscriminating.  The  only  question  is  whether  the  gain 
which  is  sought,  be  it  just  or  unjust,  is  likely  to  be  obtained. 
All  other  considerations  are  thrown  to  the  winds.  Shame  is 
absent  and  conscience  is  asleep.  We  need  not  travel  far  for 
examples  of  this  unprincipled  rapacity.  They  are  found 
wherever  there  is  ignorance  to  betray,  credulity  to  deceive, 
vanity  to  cajole  and  flatter,  appetite  and  passion  to  be  pandered 
to,  necessity  to  be  coerced  to  over  work  and  Sabbath  desecra- 
tion,— ^in  short,  wherever  there  is  money  to  be  extracted, 
allured  and  seized. 

The  eager  desire  to  amass  wealth  and  the  determination  to  do 
so  without  regard  to  means  has  been  pro-cluctive  of  another  evil 


THK  COMMERCIAL  BENEFIT  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  45o 

which  requires  to  be  mentioned' — the  careless  exposure  of  bor- 
rowed capital.  When  a  zealous  notary  of  Mammon  after 
exhausting  his  own  resources,  is  either  compelled  by  difficulty 
or  tempted  by  hope  tO'  avail  himself  of  the  aid  of  borrowed 
money  it  not  umfrequently  happens  that  he  engages  in  more 
hazardous  speculations,  and  with  greater  temerity,  than  before. 
Instead  of  being  more  cautious  he  is  less  so  because  he  has 
greater  means  at  his  command ;  and  being  eager  to  redeem  him- 
self or  rapidly  to  acquire  a  fortune  he  fails  perhaps  in  both 
objects  and  loses  all.  This  is  "a  sore  evil"  and;  a  most  guilty 
and  censurable  practice.  Whatever  right  a  man  may  claim  to 
have  to  do  what  he  will  with  his  own,  he  has  none  to  involve 
another  in  his  ruin  or  to  risk  the  property  he  obtained  on  loan 
except  upon  the  most  clear  and  rational  prospect  of  success. 
But  this  recklessness  of  consequences,  this  dereliction  of  pru- 
dence and  honor,  though  in  these  days  too  common  to  excite 
wonder,  will  admit  of  nO'  justification  in  the  court  of  conscience. 
"He  that  maketh  haste  to  be  rich  shall  not  be  innocent." 

But  this  is  not  all.  Whem  the  object  is  more  cautiously  and 
steadily  pursued  it  is  often  permitted  so  completely  to  absorb 
the  whole  soul,  and  keep  the  faculties  upon  the  stretch,  that 
there  is  neither  time,  nor  desire,  nor  energy  left  from  mental 
improvement  or  attention  to  the  claims  of  religion  and  the  soul. 
If  the  plain  and  humble  christian  who  has  no  time  to  read  any 
thing  but  his  Bible  may  be  denominated  in  a  good  sense  of  the 
words  a  man  of  one  book,  he  who  is  thus  confined  to^  earthly 
pursuits  may  as  justly  be  termed  in  a  bad  sense,  a  man  of  one 
idea.  He  thinks  of  nothing  but  accumulation;  and'  however 
magnificent  the  idea  may  be  in  bis  own  conception,  he  cannot, 
by  all  his  efforts,  expand  it  beyond  the  magnitude  of  a  bubble 
which  rolls  upon  the  earth  and  bursts  at  his  feet,  or  floats  on 
the  lower  stratum  of  the  atmosphere  till  it  is  lost  in  air. 
Engaged  in  one  unceasing  round  of  worldly  occupation',  the 
wretched  slave  of  avarice  has  but  little  reason  to  congratulate 
himself  on  any  superiority  to  those  who  labour  at  the  oar  or  in 
the  mine  in  the  misery  of  constrained  servitude  and  in  the 
degradation  of  mental  darkness.  Conistantly  panting  after 
gain  and  exclaiming — "give !  give !" — he  never  says,  "it  is 
enough,"  and  never  enjoys  what  he  thus  laboriously  acquires. 


456  THK  COMMERCIAL  BENEl'lT  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

What  greater  calamity  can  befall  a  rational  being  tlian'  to  be 
fast  bound  on  the  chaini  of  a  never-satisfied  cupidity ! 

It  is  to  a  violation  of  this  rule  of  moderately  pursuing  our 
secular  concerns  that  we  are  to  ascribe  these  disasters  which  so 
frequently  convulse  the  commercial  world  from  its  centre  to  its 
extremities  involving  thousands  in  ruin  and  shaking  the  confi- 
dence of  nations.  To  this  we  may  ascribe  the  passion'  for  over- 
trading, and  adventurous  speculation  beyond  the  bounds  of 
prudence  and  probability ;  the  production  of  factitious  capital 
which  resting  on  spurious  credit  is  liable  to  be  dissipated  with 
that  w^hich  supports  it ;  the  disregard  of  all  the  rules  and  cal- 
culations of  better  times  ;  the  scornful  rejection  of  those  slower 
but  more  certain  methods  which  made  our  forefathers  respect- 
able and  happy ;  and  the  consequent  adoption  of  wild,  chimeri- 
cal, and  unlawful  measures  equally  at  variance  with  discretion 
and  morality. 

Never  will  nations,  communities  and  individuals  be  secure 
from  the  danger  of  such  disasters  until  the  principles  of  those 
moral  laws  which  should  regulate  their  operations  are  generally 
adopted.  So  long  as  such  plain  and  settled  laws  of  action  are 
set  at  naught  all  hope  of  success  will  be  endangered  and  the 
design  frustrated  by  the  very  efifort  to  secure  it. 

"In  opposition."  says  Dr.  Chalmers,  "to  the  maxim,  that  the 
spirit  of  enterprise  is  the  soul  of  commercial  prosperity,  do  we 
hold  that  it  is  the  excess  of  this  spirit  beyond  the  moderation 
of  the  New  Testament,  which,  pressing  on  the  natural  bounda- 
ries of  trade,  is  sure  at  length  to  visit  every  country,  where  it 
operates,  with  the  recoil  of  all  those  calamities,  which  in  the 
shape  of  beggared  capitalists,  and  unemployed  operatives,  and 
dreary  intervals  of  bankruptcy  and  alarm,  are  observed  to 
follow  a  season  of  overdone  speculation.'' 

What,  then,  would  be  the  conduct  w^hich  a  character  formed 
on  the  principles  and  according  to  the  model  distinctly  laid 
down  by  divine  authority,  may  be  expected  to  exhibit.  The 
person  possessing  it  would  maintain  a  strict  integrity  in  all  his 
concerns,  making  his  engagements  with  caution  and  fulfilling 
them  with  scrupulous  fidelity.  He  would  take  no  mean  advan- 
tage of  an}^  favourable  circumstances  in  which  he  might 
be  placed ;   but   while   he   would   call   his   skill   into  exercise 


THE  COMMERCIAL  BENEFIT  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  457 

to  take  every  honest  advantage  of  their  occurrence,  he 
would  remember  the  claims  of  equity  and  honour.  His 
wishes  for  himself  would  regulate  iiis  treatment  of 
others.  The  duties  of  his  vocation  he  would  discharge 
with  unremitting  assiduity,  and  its  objects  he  would  pur- 
sue with  diligent  activity,  and  yet  with  calm  perseverance, 
— so  moderating  his  attention  to  them  as  to  possess  Jiis  soul  in 
patience.  He  would  be  careful  not  so  to  entangle  himself  with 
a  multiplicity  and  diversity  of  concerns  as  to  perplex  and  fetter 
his  mind ;  but  reserve  himself  for  such  other  occupations  as 
duty  or  inclination  call  for.  Against  that  feverish  anxiety 
which  results  from  rash  and  hazardous  speculations  he  would 
be  especially  on  his  guard.  Remembering  that  a  man's  life  and 
happiness  consist  not  in  the  abundance  of  the  things  he  pos- 
sesses, he  would  seek  to  use  as  well  as  to  appropriate,  to  ctijoy 
as  well  as  to  obtain.  The  cultivation  of  the  noble  faculties  of 
his  nature,  the  improvement  of  his  mind,  the  enlargement  of 
his  knowledge,  the  pleasure  of  social  intercourse  and  benevolent 
exertion,  and  the  duties  of  religion  would  receive  a  competent 
portion  of  his  regard  ;  and  jealously  would  he  resist  any  abridg- 
mernt  of  t^he  ihours  devoted  to  these  engagements.  Holding 
thus  the  balance  even, — wisely  dividing  his  attention,  repelling 
extravagant  desires, — seeking  only  the  practicable  and  the  safe, 
— 'Studying  whatsoever  things  are  honest,  true  and  good  report 
— ^he  would  most  efifectually  secure  his  own  interest  and  peace 
of  mind,  while  he  exhibits  an  example  which,  if  generally  imi- 
tated, would  equally  advance  the  general  good,  and  for  ever 
repress  wild  speculation,  reckless  adventure,  and  unprincipled 
rapacity. 

Would  you,  then,  cherish  and  secure  these  solid  virtues  and 
this  invaluable  character,  and  success  and  reputation  in  life? — 
th-en  adhere  to  the  maxims  of  Holy  Scripture  and  you  will  find 
in  your  own  experience  and  prove  to  the  good  of  others  that 
godlin-ess, — by  the  principles  it  inculcates  and  the  practice  it 
enjoins, — is  eminently  favourable  to  the  temporal  interests  of 
mankind  at  large. 

Let  me,  however,  admonish  you  that  while  an  adoption  of 
the  moral  code  of  the  Bible  merely,  may  secure  present  and 
temporal  advantages,  that  unless  you  believe  and  obey  from  the 


458         the;  commercial  benefit  of  Christianity. 

heart  the  plan  of  righteousiness  revealed  in  the  gospel  for  the 
salvation  of  sinners,  it  will  avail  you  nothing  towards  eternal 
life. 

**You  may  have  gathered  around  you,"  to  use  the  language  of 
another,  "many  comforts,  but  none  that  will  comfort  your 
spirit  when  it  is  departing  into  eternity.  You  may  have 
acquired  a  respectable  standing  in  society,  but  how  do  you 
staml  in  the  sight  of  God?  Slander  may  not  have  breathed 
upon  your  reputation,  nor  suspicion  even  cast  a  glance  upon 
your  honour;  but  you  have  loved  the  world,  and  sought  not 
the  honour  that  cometh  from  a^bove.  You  may  have  been  faith- 
ful in  your  engagements,  you  may  have  exercised  the  courtesies 
of  life,  you  may  have  not  betrayed  your  friend,  you  may 
not  have  oppressed  the  poor — 'but  you  have  loved  the  world. 
The  miserable  you  may  have  often  pitied  and  relieved,  from  the 
promptings  of  natural  sympathy ;  the  welfare  of  your  coimtry 
you  may  have  advanced,  on  the  dictates  of  enlightened  patriot- 
ism; but  you  have  loved  the  world;  and  love  it  still ;  it  is  your 
chosen  portion,  and  you  desire  no  better.  Now  if  any  man 
love  the  zvorld,  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him.  You  have 
failed,  then,  in  the  very  first  principle  of  duty  towards  your 
Maker  and'  Judge.  The  first  and  great  commandment  is,  Thou 
shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  zvith  all  thy 
mind,  zvith  all  thy  soul,  and  zmth  all  thy  strength.  This  com- 
mandment you  have  broken.  To  you  may  be  addressed  the 
awful  words  of  our  Lx)rd  to  the  unbelieving  Jews,  /  knozv  you, 
that  you  have  not  the  love  of  God  in  you.  And  He  knows  you. 
too,  as  thoroughly  and  as  intimately  as  He  knew  them ;  and  He 
knows  that  the  solemn  charge  is  as  applicable  to  you  as  it  was 
to  them.  The  love  of  the  world  has  so  completely  filled  your 
heart,  that  there  is  no  room  in  it  for  the  habitation  of  God 
through  the  spirit.  Nor  do  you  desire  that  He  should  dwell 
there.  The  Law  of  God  is  unchangeable,  and  cannot  be  revoked. 
It  will  not  admit  of  the  least  deviation  from  its  requirements, 
because  it  is  perfect,  like  its  Divine  Author.  But  this  law  you 
have  broken;  and  you  have  no  means,  in  yourself,  of  repairing 
it,  or  of  satisfying  its  demands.  The  sentence  of  condemna- 
tion is  gone  forth  against  you ;  and  the  sword  of  etenial  justice 
is  drawn  to  execute  it  upon  you.     If  you  die  in  this  state,  you 


THK  COMMERCIAL  BENEFIT  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  459 

will  lie  down  in  darkness,  and  perish  under  the  frown  of  the 
Almiighty." 

Beware,  then,  my  hearers,  of  the  seducing  influence  of  the 
love  of  this  present  evil  world.  In  its  present  and  most  neces- 
sary engagements  it  is  deceitful  and  dangerous. 

And,  finally,  mistake  not  the  way  of  worldly  honor,  reputa- 
tion and  comfort  for  the  way  of  salvation. 

"Some  of  you  may  have  been  more  correct  and  moral  in  your 
deportment  than  others,  and  on  that  account  may  deem  your- 
selves in  a  fair  way  for  heaven.  But  trust  not  to  your  own 
virtues,  which  are  very  imperfect  at  the  best,  and  very  deficient 
at  the  utmost.  If  they  spring  from  any  other  motive  than  the 
love  of  God,  they  are  not  virtues  in  His  sight,  whatever  they 
may  appear  in  yours.  If  zveighcd  in  the  balance,  they  will  all 
be  found  waniing.  The  very  best  of  them  will  not  stand  in  the 
judgment,  much  less  atone  for  the  sins  you  have  committed. 
Your  own  hearts  will  condemn  you.  By  the  deeds  of  the  lazu 
shall  no  flesh  living  be  justified;  and  if  not  justified  before  God, 
you  caninot  be  saved.  The  blood  of  Christ  alone  will  avail  you 
here.  It  was  shed  for  the  guilty,  and  every  one  that  believeth 
in  Him  shall  receive  the  benefit  of  His  death,  the  pardon  of  sin, 
and  everlasting  life.  Those  who  do  not  receive  Christ  by 
faith — ^a  faith  which  works  by  love,  and  shews  its  reality  by  the 
fruits  of  holiness  which  it  bears — remain  under  the  law. 
exposed  to  its  penalties,  and  awaiting  its  curse.  There  is  no 
other  name  given  under  heaven  by  tvhich  ive  can  be  saved;  but 
that  name  is  all-sufficient.  His  redemption  is  complete,  and 
presents  to  the  eye  of  faith  all  that  a  guilty  sinner  needs  to  set 
him  free  from  the  condemnation  of  the  law,  to  purify  his  heart 
by  the  influence  of  the  Spirit;  and  thus,  while  it  gives  a  title 
to  eternal  life,  renders  him  who  believes  in  Jesus,  meet  for  the 
possession  and  enjoyment  of  its  unutterable  blessedness.  To 
renounce  His  own  fancied  righteousness  is  humbling  to  the 
pride  of  man;  but  he  must  be  humble  in  order  to  be  exalted. 
Happy  those  who,  like  the  great  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  desire 
to  appear  before  the  throne,  not  havitig  on  their  own  righteous- 
ness which  is  of  the  lazv,  but  the  righteousness  which  is  of  God 
by  faith.  In  no  other  way  can  heaven  be  attained.  Man  can- 
not earn  a  right  to  it — man  cannot  w^ork  a  fitness  for  it.     By 


460  THE  COMMERCIAL  BENEFIT  OE  CHRISTIANITY. 

Christ  alone  the  way  is  opened — throtigh  faith  alone  we  are 
enabled  to  walk  in  that  living  zvay.  Thanks  be  to  God  for  His 
unspeakable  gift.  If  you  look  into  yourselves,  you  will  find 
nothing  but  matter  for  despondency;  but  if  you  look  to  Jesus, 
you  behold  a  foundation  strong  enough  to  sustain  your  hopes 
to  all  eternity." 


The  Design  and  Motive  of  Worldly 

Business  as  Exhibited  in 

the  Bible 


TWO  SERMONS 

BY 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 
Charleston,  S.  C. 


October,  184/. 


THE  DESIGN  AND  MOTIVE  OF  WORLDLY 
BUSINESS. 


Sermon  One. 

Titus  3 :  14 :  And  let  us  also  learn  to  maintain  good  works  (or,  as  it  is 
in  the  margin,  to  profess  honest  trades). 

Eph.  4  :  28  :  Let  him  that  stole  steal  no  more  :  but  rather  let  hi:n  labour, 
working  with  his  hands  the  thing  that  is  good,  etc. 

The  Bil)le  (as  we  have  seen  in  a  previous  discourse  on  the 
relation  of  Christianity  to  the  commercial  character)  is  adapted 
to  man's  present  condition  and  duties,  as  well  as  to  his  spiritual 
and  everlasting  interests,  and  inculcates,  as  has  been  seen, 
those  qualities  which  are  essential  to  the  dignity  and  success 
of  the  commercial  character.  But  it  does  more :  It  teaches  us 
what  purposes  christians  ought  to  have  in  view  in  following 
their  worldly  avocations,  as  well  as  by  what  principles  they 
ought  to  be  animated  and  governed.  Piety,  it  is  true,  is  essen- 
tially SL  hidden  life  of  spiritual  communion  Vi'ith  God;  but  it 
is  not,  as  some  would  represent  it,  a  mere  matter  of  spiritual 
feeling  that  shrinks  from  contact  with  human  affairs.  It  is  a 
robust  and  masculine  sentiment  that  guides  and  regulates  our 
secular  everyday  occupations  by  sound  Bible  principles — prin- 
ciples which  lead  us  to  perform  with  diligence  the  labours  of 
the  present  life,  under  the  influence  of  such  views  as  har- 
monize with  the  purposes  of  God  in  appointing  us  to  this 
present  state  of  being. 

I.  And,  first,  we  remark  the  Bible  not  only  maintains  the 
true  dignity,  necessity  and  value  of  labour,  but  holds  it  forth 
to  us  as  a  divine  appointment.  Laljour  is  generally  regarded 
as  the  consequence  and  penalty  of  the  fall  of  man.  But  that 
man  in  his  best  and  highest  estate,  as  he  came  from  the  plastic 
hand  of  his  Creator,  was  fonned  to  work — that  is,  actively  to 
employ  all  his  powers  both  of  body  and  mind — is  evident  from 
the  fact  that  after  God  Himself  had  exhibited  to  His  new 
creature  a  sublime  example  of  working  six  days — in  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world — He  still  further  illustrated  the  law  of 
activity  by  planting  a  garden  eastward  in  Eden,  where  man 
was  placed  to  dress  and  to  keep  it. 

30— Vol.  X. 


466  THE  DESIGN  AND  MOTlVi:  OF  WORLDLY  BUSINESS. 

And  when  the  Lord  God  sent  forth  disobedient  and  sinful 
man  from  the  garden  of  Eden  the  curse  pronounced  upon  him 
did  not  originate  the  necessity  of  toil  and  labour,  but  only  per- 
petuated this  necessity  under  circumstances  of  difficulty  and 
trial.  There  is  a  kind  of  sorrow,  vexation  and  fatigue  attend- 
ing the  labours  of  men  now,  which  would  not  have  been  known 
had  man  continued  in  his  loyalty  to  heaven.  The  heavens 
would  not  have  frowned  upon  him,  nor  blighted  the  earth,  had 
man  not  rebelled  against  that  God  who  rules  therein.  But 
while  the  anxieties,  the  fatigues,  the  pains,  the  oppressive 
labours  and  the  sorrows  to  which  men  are  now  subjected  are 
to  be  traced  to  this  cause — labour  is  not  in  itself  considered  a 
part  of  that  curse. 

And  hence  it  is,  that  throughout  the  book  of  God  industry, 
diligence,  exertion,  are  not  only  spoken  of  with  favour,  but 
in  terms  of  strong  commendation.  The  law  of  labour  is  there- 
fore to  be  regarded  as  a  divine  law;  so  that  in  working  with 
our  hands,  or  in  any  other  way,  the  thing  that  is  good,  we  are 
fulfilling  the  appointment  of  the  Creator.  This  appears  also 
from  an  investigation  into  the  structure  of  the  universe  and  the 
constitution  of  man's  nature,  mental  and  corporeal.  There  is 
not  only  scope  in  the  construction  of  the  visible  system  around 
us  and  in  the  organization  of  human  affairs,  for  bringing  into 
activity  all  the  powers  of  body  and  mind  with  which  man  is 
endowed,  but  there  are  innumerable  things  which  go  to  shew 
that  there  is  such  a  harmony  between  the  one  and  the  other 
as  can  be  explained  only  upon  the  principle  that  it  was  designed 
that  man's  powers  were  to  be  brought  into  exercise  and  fur- 
nished with  employment  through  the  instrumentality  both  of 
the  works  of  creation  and  providence.  So  far  then  from  any 
one  fretting  and  repining  under  the  necessity  laid  upon  him 
of  working  in  some  honourable  and  useful  occupation,  how- 
ever humble  that  employment  may  be,  he  should  rather  cheer- 
fully submit  to  it  as  one  of  the  wise  appointments  of  Deity, 
by  which  God  accomplishes  His  purposes  both  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  world  and  in  the  formation  of  man.  And  while 
there  are  many  sorrows,  vexations  and  fatigues  resulting  from 
labour  in  consequence  of  man's  present  fallen  condition,  these 
are  nothing  in  comparison   with  the   evils   which   invariably 


the;  design  and  motive;  of  worldly  business.       467 

spring  from  indolence.  In  fact  this  necessity  of  toil  seems  to 
be  a  kind  of  check  or  comiteracting  law  rolling  back  the  tide 
of  corruption  with  which  our  natures  are  swelling  and  keeping 
it,  as  it  otherwise  certainly  would,  from  entirely  overwhelming 
us.  Labour  therefore,  in  itself  considered,  is  a  blessing  and 
not  a  curse,  and  hence  one  end  to  be  sought  in  choosing  some 
worldly  employment,  even  were  there  not  others  necessary,  is 
the  advantage  to  be  derived  from  constant  occupation. 

II.  But,  second,  another  purpose  that  ought  to  influence 
us  in  following  some  honest  occupation  is  that  of  providing 
for  ourselves,  our  families  and  helpless  friends. 

That  we  are  to  provide  for  ourselves  by  our  own  exertion 
is  taught  with  delightful  explicitness  in  the  word  of  God. 
Towards  the  conclusion  of  the  second  Epistle  to  the  Thessa- 
lonians,  we  have  the  following  paragraph :  "Now  we  command 
you,  brethren,  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  ye 
withdraw  yourselves  from  every  brother  that  walketh  dis- 
orderly, and  not  after  the  tradition  which  he  received  of  us. 
For  yourselves  know  how  ye  ought  to  follow  us :  for  we 
behaved  not  ourselves  disorderly  among  you ;  neither  did  we 
eat  any  man's  bread  for  nought ;  for  even  when  we  were  with 
you  this  we  commanded  you,  that  if  any  would  not  work, 
neither  should  he  eat.  For  we  hear  that  there  are  some  which 
walk  among  you  disorderly,  working  not  at  all,  but  are  busy- 
bodies.  Now  them  that  are  such  we  command  and  exhort  by 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  with  quietness  they  work,  and  eat 
their  own  bread."  In  so  important  a  light,  it  appears,  did 
Paul  look  upon  the  principle  of  every  man  eating  his  own 
bread — that  is,  bread  he  had  himself  lal)Oured  for — that  he 
voluntarily  resigned  the  power  which  he  had  as  an  apostle  of 
Christ,  of  being  supported  by  those  christians  of  Thessalonica 
v/ho  had  been  begotten  of  him  into  the  hope  of  the  gospel.  In 
the  present  instance  he  voluntarily  refused  to  use  this  power, 
that  he  might  exemplify  a  principle  which  lies  at  the  very 
foundation  of  personal  and  social  comfort. — "Neither  did  we 
eat  any  man's  bread  for  nought;  but  zvrought  zvith  labour  and 
travail  night  and  day,  that  we  might  not  be  chargeable  to  any 
of  you:  not  because  we  have  not  power,  but  to  make  ourseh-cs 
an  example  unto  you  to  folloiv  us." 


-168  THE  DESIGN  AND  MOTIVE  OF  WORLDEY  BUSINESS. 

Let  US  all  then  fill  our  hands  and  our  time,  etc.,  and  let  us 
all  estimate  as  we  ought  the  values. 

"The  v/orker,"  says  Mr.  Boynton,  "is  the  true  noble."  By 
working  men  he  "means  not  simply  those  who  are  engaged  in 
manual  labour.  The  man  is  a  workman  who  performs  or 
causes  to  be  performed  something,  anything  which  will  help 
to  beautify  and  adorn  the  earth,  rescue  it  from  waste  and 
wilderness,  multiply  our  comforts,  or  exalt  the  character  and 
condition  of  the  human  family." 

"We  have  the  authority  of  the  Scriptures  for  applying  the 
term  work"  to  employment,  even  of  the  infinite  mind.  "On 
the  seventh  day  God  ended  His  work  which  He  had  made  and 
rested  on  the  seventh  day  from  all  His  work." 

"Though  we  are  not  to  connect  the  idea  of  toil  and  difficulty 
with  the  work  of  God,  yet  we  are  taught  by  the  Bible  to  think 
of  God  as  a  being  of  sleepless  energies,  put  forth  without 
intermission  in  designing  and  creating,  or  in  governing  the 
universe  which  He  has  made." 

The  dignity  of  labour  rests  upon  the  great  truth,  that  the 
Omnipotent  is  Himself  ever  engaged  in  work  of  some  kind — 
that  He  is  the  Architect  that  designed  and  built  the  Vv'orld  we 
inhabit,  and  the  starry  heavens  which  are  above  and  around  us. 

"Whenever  we  open  our  eyes  we  behold  a  collection  of  won- 
ders ;  and  on  each  of  these  God  has  been  employed.  He  began 
them  and  finished,  and  spread  them  out  for  the  inspection  and 
admiration  of  man.  Here  is  this  universe  about  us,  which  the 
Lord  has  been  making,  been  working  upon — and  let  us  open 
our  eyes  upon  this  vast  cabinet  of  curiosities,  this  boundless 
museum  of  God;  where  this  is  the  label  upon  every  object: 
'Made  by  the  hand  of  God.'  " 

But  a  man  is  not  only  to  provide  for  himself,  but  also  for 
his  house ;  for,  says  the  apostle :  "If  any  provide  not  for  his 
own,  and  especially  for  those  of  his  own  house,  he  hath  denied 
the  faith  and  is  worse  than  an  infidel."  Now  the  reference 
here  is  not  merely  to  a  man's  wife  and  family,  though  they  of 
course  have  a  primary  claim,  but  likewise  to  his  relatives  gen- 
erally and  to  the  poor  of  the  church,  as  is  evident  not  only 
from  the  original  word,  which  takes  on  the  general  idea  of 
kindred,   but    from    the    connection    in    which    the    statement 


THE  DESIGN  AND  MOTIVE  OF  WORLDLY  BUSINESS.  469 

occurs.  Only  those  are  to  be  recognized  as  widows  indeed 
who  have  no  christian  relatives  by  whom  they  might  be 
assisted,  since  it  is  the  duty  of  such  to  provide  for  their  own 
and  not  to  cast  them  upon  the  support  of  the  church.  "If  any 
widow  have  children,  or  grandchildren,  let  them  learn  to 
requite  their  parents  (whether  immediate  or  remote),  for  that 
is  good  and  acceptable  before  God."  That  is,  if  any  such 
child,  or  grandchild,  fail  to  provide — as  far  as  means  and 
opportunity  will  admit — for  such  near  and  helpless  relatives, 
he  has  practically  denied  the  faith  and  is  worse  than  an  infidel, 
since  many  even  of  them  treat  such  kindred  with  kindness  and 
supply  their  wants. 

And  yet  how  often,  even  in  this  christian  land,  do  we  behold 
the  spectacle  referred  to  by  the  prophet  when  he  speaks  of 
"hiding  ourselves  from  our  own  flesh."  In  this  country  where 
every  one  is  at  liberty  to  choose  the  occupation  for  which  he 
is  best  adapted,  and  in  which  he  may  exert  all  his  ingenuity 
and  skill  in  turning  his  labour  to  the  most  profitable  account, — 
here,  I  say,  it  frequently  happens  that  children  rise  to  higher, 
more  influential  and  more  lucrative  situations  than  any  that 
their  parents  ever  filled.  And  is  it  not  a  melancholy  truth 
that  in  some  cases  these  children  are  ashamed  of  the  poverty 
of  their  parents  or  friends,  blush  at  their  humble  circum- 
stances, turn  away  from  their  own  flesh,  and  while  they  enjoy 
comfort  and  abundance,  sufifer  their  parents  and  friends  to  be 
in  great  poverty  and  dependent  on  the  charity  even  of 
strangers.  Now  of  all  such  persons,  whatever  they  may  pro- 
fess, the  apostle  declares  that  they  are  not  christians.  They 
are  a  dishonor  and  a  scandal  to  the  christian  name.  They  are 
worse  than  heathen. 

All  such  needy  friends  Christianity  takes  under  its  divine 
protection  and  considers  the  treatment  given  to  them  as  ren- 
dered to  Christ  Himself.  It  disposes  and  requires  its  disciples 
to  respect,  to  relieve,  to  requite,  and  that  in  a  generous  manner, 
such  indigent  parents,  and  friends  and  christian  brethren,  and 
it  holds  forth  as  one  motive — and  that  not  the  least  strong — 
that  ought  to  prompt  the  most  vigorous  eflforts  to  rise  in  the 
scale  of  worldly  influence  and  wealth  to  meet — without  injury 


470  THE  DESIGN  AND  MOTIVE  OF  WORLDLY  BUSINESS. 

to  ourselves  or  our  households — this  venerable  law  of  christian 
charity. 

in.  But,  in  the  third  place,  another  purpose  that  as 
christians  we  ought  to  have  in  view  in  practicing  such  dili- 
gence, is  that  we  may  thereby  be  enabled  to  live  in  honesty, 
independence  and  comfort. 

Paul,  when  commending  the  Thessalonians  for  their 
brotherly  love,  is  led  to  add :  "And  that  ye  study  to  be  quiet 
and  to  do  your  own  business  and  to  work  with  your  own  hands 
as  we  commanded  you — that  ye  may  walk  honestly  towards 
them  that  are  without  and  that  ye  may  have  lack  of  nothing." 
The  words  "to  walk  honestly"  do  not  simply  mean  to  practice 
that  upright  feeling  to  which  we  usually  give  the  name  of 
honesty.  It  includes  this  and  more.  Honesty,  in  the  ordinary 
sense,  is  violated  in  two  ways.  First,  when  we  lay  our  hands 
on  the  property  of  others  and  take  what  does  not  belong  to 
us — what  is  not  our  own — what  we  have  not  laboured  for  or  in 
any  other  lawful  way  acquired — and  therefore  what  we  have 
no  right  to.  This  is  an  open  violation  of  the  law  of  God, 
which  definitely  says:  "Thou  shalt  not" — i.  e.,  on  no  account, 
at  no  time,  and  to  no  extent,  etc. — "steal;"  and  the  person  who 
is  guilty  of  such  an  act  we  characterize  as  dishonest — as  a 
thief.  It  is  not  then  by  theft  that  our  wants  are  to  be  sup- 
plied. And  accordingly  to  those  who  may  have  been  addicted 
to  habits  of  this  kind  before  embracing  the  faith  of  Christ 
Paul  says :  "Let  him  that  stole  steal  no  more,"  but  rather  let 
him  labour,  working  with  his  hands  the  thing  that  is  good." 
But  honesty  is  also  violated  when  a  person  is  guilty  of  decep- 
tion, although  he  may  not  actually  have  held  out  his  hand  to 
steal  or  to  pilfer  the  property  of  others.  Any  sort  of  decep- 
tion may  be  ranked  imder  the  head  of  dishonesty,  although  the 
term  is  most  generally  applied  to  the  deception  that  is  practiced 
in  regard  to  worldly  matters.  A  man  who  is  strict  and  regular 
in  paying  his  lawful  debts — who  acts  on  the  principle  of  owing 
no  man  anything — who  accustoms  himself  to  clear  off  his 
debts  at  the  proper  time — whose  word  can  be  depended  on  in 
commercial  matters  and  on  all  the  lesser  transactions  of  life- 
is  an  honest  man.  On  the  contrary,  a  person  who  tries  to 
cheat  and  deceive  his  fellows — who  does  not  care  about  pay- 


the;  design  and  motive  oe  worldly  business.       471 

ing  what  he  borrows  or  settling  the  accounts  he  has  con- 
tracted— who  tries  to  postpone — for  the  purpose  of  evading 
altogether — the  payment  of  what  he  owes,  we  denominate  a 
dishonest  man.  Persons  may  often  be  found  who,  though 
not  intentionally  or  with  dishonest  design,  yet,  nevertheless, 
through  indolence,  or  a  spirit  of  speculation,  or  other  causes, 
do  in  fact  incapacitate  themselves  for  paying  debts  which  may 
not  have  been  dishonestly  incurred.  But  no  such  reasons  can 
justify  the  inability  to  which  they  have  brought  themselves  by 
their  own  conduct,  and  to  all  such  persons  the  apostle  says: 
"Work  with  your  own  hands,  as  we  commanded  you,  that  you 
may  walk  honestly  toward  them  that  are  without,"  since  with- 
out industry  and  honorable  labour  no  man  can  live  honestly. 

But  while  these  words  unquestionably  enforce  these  plain 
and  paramount  obligations,  the  words  do  not  exclusively 
denote  the  feeling  of  honesty  in  its  application  to  the  business 
of  life,  but  are  also  expressive  according  to  their  well  known 
usage,  of  decency,  reputation  and  honour,  and  these  we  believe 
to  be  included  in  the  motive  by  which  the  apostle  enforces 
the  duty  here  enjoined.  It  is  the  same  word  which  the  apostle 
uses  when  he  says :  "Let  all  things  be  done  decently  and  in 
order."  The  same  word  is  used  in  describing  Joseph  of 
Airmathea  "an  honorable  counsellor"  and  "certain  devout  and 
honorable  women."*  It  indicates  the  natural  and  proper 
result  of  true  piety  wherever  it  takes  full  effect.  The  gospel 
fills  the  mind  with  honorable  feelings,  and  engenders  a  desire 
not  only  to  live  upon  our  own  earnings,  but  to  live  a  decent, 
decorous,  respectable,  honorable  life — such  a  life  as  will  be 
creditable  to  the  profession  we  make  and  harmonize  with  the 
position  and  circumstances  in  which  we  are  placed.  This 
desire  is  at  the  farthest  distance  possible  from  that  vain- 
glorious ambition  after  the  pomps  of  this  world  which  dwells 
in  bosoms  that,  however  vigorous,  are  unsanctified  and  desti- 
tute of  the  knowledge  and  fear  of  God. 

Nor  is  this  the  whole  of  the  apostle's  motive  for  industry 
and  energy  in  our  worldly  callings.  He  sanctifies  us  proper 
and    worthy — the    desire    which    is    felt    by    every    honorable 

*Acts  13,  50,  and  17,  12. 


473  THE  DESIGN   AND  MOTIVE  OF  WORLDLY  BUSINESS. 

mind — to  be  independent.  Do  this,  says  he,  "that  ye  may  have 
lack  of  nothing,"  or  rather  that  ye  may  have  need  of  assistance 
from  no  man — that  ye  may  not  be  a  burden  upon  others — and 
that  ye  may  not  be  eating  the  fruit  of  another  man's  labour 
rather  than  of  your  own.  This  of  course  does  not  mean  that 
we  ought  to  desire  to  be  entirely  and  in  every  respect  independ- 
ent of  our  fellow  men  around  us.  The  pride  that  originates 
and  feeds  such  a  desire  is  not  more  wicked  than  it  is  vain  and 
foolish.  We  are  all  dependent  on  one  another  in  ways  quite 
innumerable ;  and  this  mutual  dependence  lays  the  foundation 
for  many  of  those  offices  of  kindness  that  constitute  the  prin- 
cipal sources  of  earthly  felicity.  From  this  dependence  spring 
many  of  the  most  salutary  and  healthful  feelings  v/e  can 
cherish.  This  law  of  mutual  dependence  therefore  must  and 
ought  to  be  preserved  and  honored.  To  revolt  against  it  is 
to  revolt  against  God's  constitution  of  things — a  constitution 
of  things  not  only  wise,  but  good  and  benificent  to  those  who 
live  under  it.  There  ought  to  be  unquestionably  what  is  called 
coming  and  going — a  giving  and  receiving  kindness — a  bestow- 
ing and  accepting  of  favors ;  and  there  ought  to  be  a  frankness 
and  generosity  both  on  the  one  side  and  the  other,  both  on 
the  part  of  the  receiver  and  the  giver — in  short,  a  heartfelt 
reciprocation  of  all  the  charities,  amenities  and  mutual  good 
offices  which  flow  from  the  law  of  mutual  dependence  and 
mutual  necessity. 


Sermon  Two. 

Titus  3:14:  And  let  ours  also  learn  to  maintain  good  works  for  neces- 
sary uses,  that  they  be  not  unfruitful. 

Eph.  4 :  28 :  Let  him  that  stole  steal  no  more :  but  rather  let  him  labour, 
working  with  his  hands  the  thing  which  is  good,  that  he  may  have  to  give 
to  him  that  needeth. 

In  a  previous  discourse  we  have  endeavored  to  direct  }'Our 
attention  to  the  views  and  motives  that  ought  to  influence 
christians  in  diligently  prosecuting  their  worldly  callings.  This 
ought  to  be  done,  we  first  remarked,  under  a  deep  sense  of  the 
dignity  and  value  of  labor  as  a  divine  appointment.  We  are 
also,  in  the  second  place,  encouraged  in  industrious  zeal  by  the 
hope  of  providing  for  ourselves,  our  families,  and  our  helpless 


THE  DESIGN  AND  MOTIVE  OF  WORLDLY  BUSINESS.  473 

friends.  And  a  third  moitive  which  aught  to  actuate  to  such 
industry  is  that  we  may  thereby  be  enabled  to  Hve  in  honesty, 
independence  and  comfort. 

We  proceed  to  remark  that  another,  and  in  some  respects  a 
more  disinterested,  motive  than  any  yet  mentioned  that  ought 
to  operate  in  exciting  us  to  diligence  in  our  worldly  callings  is 
that  of  having  something  wherewith  to  assist  the  poor  and  the 
destitute.  That  this  onght  to  be  a  motive  and  a  very  leading 
one,  in  stimulating  the  christian  to  develop  all  his  energies  both 
of  body  and  mind,  and  to  endeavour  to  turn  them  to  a  pecuni- 
ary account,  is  evident  from  the  exposition  in  our  text,  "Let 
him  labour  workitig  with  his  hands  the  things  which  is  good 
that  he  may  have  to  give  to  him  that  neerleth."  And'  of  this 
duty  thie  apostle  had  himself  given  an  illustrious  example.  "I 
have,"  says  he,  "shewed  you  all  things  how  that  so  labouring 
ye  ought  to  support  the  weak,  and  to  remember  the  words  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  how  He  said — it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than 
to  receive." 

Benevolence,  disinterestedness,  generosity  is  the  very  genius 
of  Christianity.  This  is  the  air  it  breathes, — its  native  element. 
When  it  was  young— and  youthful  feeling  predominated  over 
the  prudence  and  wisdom  of  riper  years,  none  of  the  multitude 
of  Ijelievers,  said  that  aught  of  the  things  he  possessed  was  his 
own,  but  they  had  all  things  in  common.  "Neither  was  there 
any  among  them  that  lacked ;  for  as  many  as  were  possessors 
of  houses  and  lands  sold  them  and  brought  the  prices  of  the 
things  that  were  sold  and  laid  them  at  the  apostle's  feet ;  and 
distribution  was  made  unto  every  man  according  as  he  had 
need."  And  although  this  was  an  arrangement  which  had 
never  been  enjoined,  and  for  obvious  reasons  could  not  be  per- 
manent, yet  such  an  annihilation  of  all  the  feelings  and  work- 
ings of  selfishness,  and  such  an  opening  of  the  fountains  of 
charity  as  appeared  in  the  boundless  benevolence  that  flamed 
spontaneously  from  the  hosoms  of  these  new-born  sons  of 
immortality,  present  as  with  a  vivid  picture  of  the  genius  of 
Christianity,  and  illustrate  the  warm  generosity  that  always 
works  more  or  less  in  the  hearts  of  those  that  live  through  the 
faith  of  Him,  "who  though  He  was  rich  for  our  sakes  became 
poor,  that  we  through  His  poverty  might  become  rich."    While, 


474  THE  DESIGN  AND  MOTIVE  OF  WORLDLY  BUSINESS. 

however,  the  necessity  of  having  all  things  in  common  was 
never  inculcated  by  the  apostles — while,  on  the  contrary,  they, 
in  many  cases  inculcate  principles  certainly  subversive  of  such 
an  arrangement — yet  the  sacred  amials  of  apostolic  labours,  and 
the  epistles  written  to  the  churches  that  were  planted  by  them, 
are  irradiated,  as  we  have  just  seen,  both  with  precepts  and 
examples,  in  which  the  lofty  spirit  of  a  wise  and  holy  philan- 
thropy burns  with  the  intensest  ardour.  The  exuberance  of 
juvenile  generosity  passed  away;  but  it  did  not  give  place  to 
that  co'ld-'hearted  indift'erence  to  the  interests  of  others,  that 
sometimes  goes  by  the  name  of  prudence,  or  of  doing  justice  to 
ourselves.  No,  the  poor  and  the  needy  were  still  attended  to. 
And  the  apostle  was  only  an  example  of  the  brethren  generally 
when  he  speaks  of  being  "fonvard"  to  remember  the  poor  and 
to  support  and  aid  the  needy.  Yes,  Christianity  in  whatever 
light  we  look  upon  it — whether  we  look  at  it  as  it  is  found  in 
the  Scriptures,  or  as  it  has  been  exhibited  by  Jesus  Christ  Him- 
self, by  His  apostles,  Or  by  those  churches,  primitive  or  modern, 
that  have  most  largely  imbibed  and  exemplified  its  spirit — will 
appear  to  be  eminently  and  essentially  a  religion  of  benevolence. 
It  commands  its  disciples  to  feed  the  hungry,  to  clothe  the 
naked,  and  to  assist  the  sick  and  the  afflicted.  Its  language  is : 
"look  not  every  man  on  his  own  things,  but  every  man  also  on 
the  things  of  others."  "As  ye  have  therefore  opportunity  do 
good  unto  all,  especially  unto  them  who  are  of  the  household 
of  faith."'* 

No  man.  therefore,  can  pursue  his  daily  business  in  a  chris- 
tian spirit  who  does  not  work  diligently  in  order  that  he  may 
have  what  he  can  distribute  to  the  destitute.  Many  professing 
christians,  however,  regard  demands  of  this  kind  as  grievances 
— as  a  species  of  annoyance  from  which  they  would  gladly  be 
rid — or  as  claims  which  they  are  at  perfect  liberty  to  receive 
or  reject.  They  give,  therefore,  in  narrow  and  stinted  measure 
only  what  they  cannot  well  avoid.  Instead  of  regretting  that 
it  is  not  in  their  power  to  give  more  they  are  pained  that  they 
cannot  decently  give  less.  But  every  sound  believer  will  feel 
giving  to  the  needy  according  to  his  ability  to  be  his  privilege, — 
one  way  that  he  has  of  showing  that  God  who  has  given  him  all 

*Read  1  Tim.  6:  17. 


THE  DESIGN  AND  MOTIVE  OE  WORLDLY   BUSINESS.  475 

things  richly  to  enjoy — one  way  of  lending  to  the  Lord  what 
will  be  returned  with  interest  a  thousand- fold  when  He  makes 
His  appearance — one  way  of  sowing  what  will  by  and  by  yield 
him  an  abundant  harvest ; — in  a  word,  one  way  of  laying  up 
"treasures  in  heaven  where  neither  moth  nor  rust  doth  cor- 
rupt." He  will  labour,  therefore,  for  the  very  purpose  of 
having  something  over  and  above  all  his  other  claims  to  give 
to  him  that  needeth. 

Another  and  even  a  weightier  motive  which  aught  to  animate 
the  christian  to  industry  in  his  calling  is  that  he  may  be  able  to 
bear  an  honorable  part  in  the  maintenance  and  extension  of  the 
gospel. 

That  this  is  a  duty  which  the  Lord  Jesus,  the  Head  of  the 
Church,  has  devolved  upon  His  followers  is  as  plain  as  His  own 
words  can  make  it,  and  as  He  is  our  Lawgiver  and  King — and 
can  only  prove  a  Saviour  and  Priest  where  He  is  received  in 
both  these  relations,  no  law  contained  in  the  Scriptures  which 
are  His  statute  book  can  be  evaded  or  opposed  by  us,  without 
either  secret  or  open  rebellion  against  our  Sovereign  Lord. 
This  duty  He  might  have  left  to  be  ascertained  from  general 
principles  and  honest  inferences.  Even  in  that  case,  however, 
it  would  have  been  easier,  in  our  opinion,  to  have  demonstrated 
the  obligation  of  this  duty  upon  those  who  enjoy  the  gospel 
than  it  is  to  prove  many  other  things  respecting  which  the 
church  entertains  no  doubt.  But  while  this  duty  is  thus  plainly 
imparted  even  upon  grounds  of  common  humanity  and  benevo- 
lence and  justice  Christ  has  enforced  it  as  all-important  by  the 
most  plain  and  explicit  legislation. 

Turn  first  to  the  first  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  and  in  the 
ninth  chapter,  the  following,  among  other  similar  declarations, 
will  be  found:  "Who  goeth  a  warfare  any  time  at  his  own 
charges?  who  planteth  a  vineyard,  and  eateth  not  of  the  fruit 
thereof  ?  or  who  f  eedeth  a  fiock,  and  eateth  not  of  the  milk  of 
the  flock?  If  we  have  sown  unto  you  spiritual  things,  is  it  a 
great  thing  if  we  shall  reap  your  carnal  things?  Do  ye  not 
know  that  they  who  minister  about  holy  things  live  of  the  things 
of  the  temple?  and  they  who  wait  at  the  altar  are  partakers 
wath  the  altar?  Even  so  hath  the  Lord  ordained  that  they  zcho 
preach  the  Gospel  should  live  of  the  Gospel."     Hear  again  the 


476  THE  DESIGN  AND  MOTIVE  OE  WORLDLY  BUSINESS. 

Spirit  speaking  on  this  point  "to  the  churches  of  Galatia," — 
''Let  him  that  is  taught  in  the  word  communicate  unto  him  that 
teacheth  in  all  good  things." — Gal.  vi.  6.  See  also  1  Tim.  v. 
17,  18. 

From  these  quotations  nothing  cani  be  clearer  than  that  the 
maintenance  of  the  christian  ministry  is  not  optionally  but 
morally  obligatory  on  the  part  of  the  disciples  of  Ghrist ;  inso- 
much that  they  cannot  neglect  this  duty  without  breaking  one 
of  His  most  explicitly  delivered  laws.  And  they  who  venture 
to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  this  commandment,  and  act  as  if  Jesus 
had  been  silent  on  the  subject,  would  do  well  to  bring  to  miml 
the  principle  stated  by  the  Apostle  James  "for  whosoever  shall 
keep  the W'hole  law  and  yet  offend  in  one  point  is  guilty  of  all," 
because  he  contemns  the  authority  and  law  of  Him  whom  he 
acknowledges  as  Lord. 

To  discharge  this  duty,  therefore,  is  and  ought  to  be  one 
prime  and  influential  motive  with  every  christian  in  urging  him 
to  a  diligent  pursuit  of  his  worldly  calling.  And  is  it  not,  my 
hearer,  a  most  worthy  and  nohle  object  for  which  to  labour? 
Have  you  not  a  spiritual  as  well  as  a  natural  man,  and  do  you 
not  need  spiritual  food  for  the  nourishment  of  your  immortal 
souls  as  well  as  natural  food  for  the  sustenance  of  your  natural 
body?  Is  there  not  a  spiritual,  unseen  and  eternal  world  as 
well  as  the  natural,  visible  and  transitor}-  world  that  now  is? 
And  will  it  not  dignify  the  proceeds  of  worldly  labour  to  appor- 
tion a  part  of  them  to  the  maintenance  of  that  ministry  through 
the  instrumentality  of  which  you  are  fed  with  something  higher 
than  angel's  food  and  have  the  things  of  the  Spirit  constantly 
displayed  to  your  view  ?  Shall  they  who  keep  and  dress  the 
vineyard  of  God  not  be  supported  by  its  fiiiit?  Shall  those 
who  feed  the  flock  of  Christ  and  lead  them  under  the  direction 
of  the  Great  Shepherd  to  the  green  pastures  and  still  waters  of 
ordinances,  not  be  supplied  with  milk  from  that  flock?  You 
think  it  just — anid  not  mere  generosity — to  pay  your  butcher, 
your  baker,  your  grocer,  your  tailor,  your  teachers,  your  mer- 
chants, and  your  lawyers,  your  magistrates,  your  legislators, 
your  judges,  and  all  who  serve  you  in  your  temporal  interests. 
But  why  is  it  less  just  and  honorable  to  recompense  with  pro- 
portionate liberality  those  who  speixl  and  are  spent  in  render- 


THK  DESIGN  AND  MOTIVE  OF  WORLDEY  BUSINESS.  4T7 

ing  you  spiritual  service?  Do  they  not  labour  and  toil,  as  con^ 
stantly  as  others?  Are  they  not  wearied  and  outdone  by  the 
very  excess  of  mental  toil  ?  Do  they  not  in  feeding  you 
exhaust  the  last  dregs  of  feeling  and  capacity  ?  Or  is  there 
a  more  expensive  outlay  necessary  for  any  one  ibusiness  of 
life  than  in  securing  in  the  education,  the  books  and  all  the 
other  prerequisites  of  a  truly  earnest  and  devoted  minister,  and 
are  not  all  these  purchased,  read  and  digested,  and  secured 
solely  for  your  edification  and  comfort? 

We  canniot  but  think  that  that  man.  or  woman,  will  feel  him- 
self, or  herself,  rising  in  the  scale  of  nobility,  who  makes  it  a 
specific  O'bject  in  cultivating  habits  of  industry  and  exertion, 
to  be  a'ble  honourably  to  maintain  and  spread  abroad  that  min- 
istry, whidh  is  eminently  the  representative  of  Jesus  Christ  on 
the  earth,  and  the  appointed  channel  through  which  heaven's 
blessings  flow  into  and  fertilize  the  wilderness  of  our  heart, 
and  the  wildernesses  of  the  world  at  large.  On  the  other  hand, 
we  do  not  doubt  that  that  individual  must  have  about  him  a 
sense  of  degradation  and  shame,  who  tries  to  evade  a  comman.cl, 
either  wholly  or  in  part,  the  universal  evasion  of  which  would 
leave  our  world  without  any  spiritual  cultivation ;  and,  of 
course,  not  only  barren  in  the  fruits  of  righteousness  and  true 
holiness,  but  covered  over  with  the  briers  and  thorns  of  sin  and 
iniquity.  How  can  such  a  fugitive  from  duty  look  Him  in  the 
face  to  whom  we  owe  our  all,  both  as  regards  time  and  eternity? 
We  would  beseech  professing  christians  to  act  towards  Jesus 
Christ,  in  matters  that  so  nearly  atTect  His  authority  and  His 
kingdom,  with  uprightness  and  honour,  if  they  would  enjoy 
that  kind  of  prosperity  on  which  the  blessing  of  heaven  rests, 
and  if  they  would  be  accepted  of  the  Lord  in  that  day. 

And  when  we  look  abroad  over  the  field  of  the  world  now 
whitening  to  the  harvest,  and  hear  the  demand  for  labourers  as 
it  comes  up  from  every  region — and  then  turn  to  the  last  com- 
mission of  our  Saviour — how  still  more  emphatically  are  chris- 
tians urged  to  be  diligent  in  business  that  they  may  be  able 
with  greater  liberality  and  efficiency  to  come  up  to  the  help  of 
the  Lord. 

But  there  is  another  motive  in  directing  christians  to  their 
choice  of  business  and  to  diligence  in  its  pursuit  which  we  will 


478  THE  DESIGN  AND  MOTIVE  OE  WOREDLY  BUSINESS. 

mention  although  it  is  one  which  is  hahle  to  great  abuse  and, 
therefore,  to  great  misapprehension,  and  that  is  the  prospect 
of  thereby  becoming  rich.  It  is  true  the  Bible  is  very  full  and 
empbatic  in  its  warnings  against  the  love  of  money  to  the  love 
of  w'hich  it  does  not  hesitate  to  trace  all  evil.  It  even  brands 
such  covetous  love  of  money  as  idolatry.  Undoubtedl)^  the 
Scriptures  lift  their  voice  against  all  love  of  money,  and  of 
the  things  of  the  world  as  would  shut  out  the  love  of  God  and 
the  spirit  of  earnest,  inactive  piety  from  the  soul.  They  abso- 
lutely condemn  that  spirit  w'hich  would  lead  to  dissatisfaction 
and  discontent  under  poverty  and  which  would  foster  a  money- 
loving  feeling. 

All  this  is  absolutely  and  awfully  true;  and  fearful  and  gen- 
eral is  the  condemnation  under  which  it  brings  a  great  portion 
of  this  community.  But  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  a  spirit 
attainable  through  the  gospel  and  by  which  a  man  may  properly 
aim  at  such  an  accumulation  of  property  as  may  secure  his 
independence.  There  is,  we  know,  an  opposite  opinion  preva- 
lent among  some  circles  of  piety  according  to  which  it  is 
unscriptural  and  wrong  for  any  man  to  be  an  holder  of  any 
conisiderable  monies.  But  we  regard  it  as  one  of  the  altruisms 
of  the  day — one  of  those  things  in  which  man  would  be  wiser 
and  better  than  God.  The  opinion,  however,  to  which  we  allude 
is  one  which  very  few  who  have  the  opportunity  of  increasing 
their  means  are  willing  to  reduce  to  practice.  There  is  about 
it  also  a  sort  of  extravagance  that  excites  one's  suspicions  of  its 
soundness.  We  must  acknowdedge  that  it  is  unquestionably  the 
safest  side  on  which  to  err  and  that  where  one  man  is  excessive 
in  his  christian  liberality,  thousands  are  meagre  and  defective, 
many  simply  pernicious  in  their  christian  doings  and  in 
their  christian  givings.  We  would  rather,  therefore,  see  ♦"he 
sentiment  adopted  and  acted  out,  that  it  is  at  variance  with  the 
divine  law  to  be  possessed  of  more  than  is  necessary  for  our 
iinmcdiafe  wants  than  any  sentiment  that  would  make  the 
amassing  of  money,  or  the  accumulation  of  wealth  in  any  shape, 
the  grand  object  of  life.  Still  we  cannot  shut  our  eyes  to  the 
extravagance  of  the  idea  that  the  mere  circumstance  of  being 
rich  is  sinful ;  nor  to  the  extravagant  consequences  to  which  it 
would  lead.     It  conducts  to  the  conclusion  that  among  chris- 


THE  DESIGN  AND  MOTIVE  OF  WORLDLY  BUSINESS.  479 

tians  there  should  be  none  poor,  none  rich — a  sort  of  equality 
in  regard  to  wealth  that  does  not  exist  in  regard  to  any  thing 
else.  Among  christians  there  are  differences  in  regard  to  the 
stnictures  of  their  bodies — differences  in  regard  to  their  physi- 
cal, intellectual  and  spiritual  energies ; — and  why,  then,  should 
we  not  expect  differences  in  regard  to  their  outward,  worldly 
con.dition.  Differences,  indeed,  in  regard  to  temporal  circum- 
stances are  in  many  ways,  made  indispensably  necessary  by  the 
present  constitution  of  things.  Thus  great  occasions  or  emer- 
gencies now  and  then  arise  in  the  history  both  of  individuals,  of 
families,  of  cities,  of  kingdoms  and  especially  of  churches  that 
call  for  a  more  than  ordinary  supply  of  pecuniary  means, — 
occasions  when  the  advantage  of  their  being  some  who  have 
accumulated  wealth  becomes  very  apparent.  But  the  principle 
against  which  we  contend'  makes  no  provision-  for  such  emer- 
gencies. 

But,  further,  while  the  Bible  does  so  emphatically  warn  us 
against  the  danger  of  riches  and  the  damning  nature  of  covet- 
ousness,  yet  on  the  other  hand,  riches  and  wealth  are  spoken 
of  in  the  Bible  as  if  their  bestowal  were  one  of  the  ways  in 
which  God  prospers  and  blesses  His  people.  In  the  ll^^th 
Psalm  it  is  said  of  the  man  that  feareth  the  Lord  and  delightest 
greatly  in  His  commandments  that  wealth  and  riches  shall  be 
in  his  house.  Abram  is  characterized  as  a  wealthy  man  not 
long  after  his  calling  and  evidently  as  indicating  the  favour  of 
God  being  with  him,  ''and  Abram  was  very  rich  in  cattle  and 
silver  and  gold."  Similar  was  the  case  with  Job  both  in  his 
early  and  in  his  latter  condition,  and  it  is  promised  as  the 
reward  of  diligence  and  exertion  "he  becometh  poor  that 
dealeth  with  a  slack  hand,  but  the  hand  of  the  diligent  maketh 
rich." 

Some,  however,  may  imagine  that  the  force  of  these  passages 
is  greatly  if  not  altogether  weakened  by  their  being  found  in 
the  Old  Testament  and  belonging  to  the  old  economy.  It  may 
be  supposed  that  the  promises  of  God  made  to  His  people  under 
the  ancient  earthly  dispensation  were  chiefly  if  not  wholly  of  a 
temporal  character,  whereas  under  the  present  heavenly  econ- 
omy, whereby  hfe  and  immortality  have  been  brought  to  light, 
the  promises  are  of  a  more  spiritual  character,  and  that  soul- 


480       THE  de;sign  and  motive  of  worldly  business. 

prosperity  is  that  alone  which  Christ  and  His  apostles  hold  out 
as  betokening  the  divine  favour.  There  is  confessedly  some 
force  in  this — ^but  not  by  any  means  so  much  as  many  v\''ho 
make  the  objection  suppose.  The  sound,  scriptural  principle 
on  this  subject  appears  to  be  something  like  the  following — 
that  God  of  old,  during  the  childhood  of  His  people,  dealt  with 
His  people  and  accomplished  His  gracious  purposes  in  and 
towards  them,  mainly  through  temporal  promises  and  hopes, 
whereas  during  these  last  days  and  the  mamhood  of  the  world 
He  deals  with  them  principally  through  promises  that  are  spirit- 
ual and  eternal.  But  as  considerations  connected  with  life  and 
immortality  were  by  no  means  excluded  of  old,  so  neither 
are  temporal  considerations  excluded  now.  The  difference 
between  the  two  dispensations  in  this  respect  regard  princi- 
pally the  prominence  given  to  the  two  kinds  of  blessings.  There 
were  spiritual  promdses  and  prospects  then,  and  there  are  tem- 
poral promises  and  prospects  now.  Paul  still  quotes  the  fifth 
commandment  with  the  temporal  promise  annexed.*  He  also 
teaches  the  New  Testament  believers  to  make  use  of  the  Old 
Testament  promises  on  this  general  sitbject.f  Yea,  the  apostle 
directly  unfolds  the  doctrine  that  still  under  the  existing  econ- 
omy— "godliness  is  profitable  for  all  things  having  the  pronnse 
of  the  life  that  now  is  as  well  as  of  that  which  is  to  come." 
We  think,  then,  it  is  manifest  that  those  Old  Testament  pas- 
sages which  represent  the  bestowment  of  riches  and  wealth  as 
one  of  the  ways  in  which  God  prospers  and  blesses  His  people 
when  He  sees  it  best,  are  not  to  be  looked  upon  as  abrogated 
in  the  New  Testament,  though  to  some  extent  they  are  modified 
by  the  genius  of  the  new  dispensation,  and  consequently  that 
so  far  from  looking  upon  it  as  a  scandal  for  a  christian  to  be 
rich,  riches  honourably  acquired  and  in  the  exercise  of  a  proper 
liberality  are  to  be  regarded  by  him  on  whom  they  are  bestowed, 
as  a  blessing,  and  the  acquisition  of  such  riches,  therefore, 
together  with  the  position  and  influence  and  power  to  do  good 
which  they  give,  ought  to  be  one  motive  in  prompting  him  to 
diligence  and  energy  in  his  worldly  calling. 

It  is,  indeed,  a  shame  and  a  scandal  for  any  one  to  be  rich 
who  professes  to  be  under  the  power  of  those  principles  of 

*Read  Eph.  6:2,  3.  jRead  Heb,  13:5,  6. 


THE  DESIGN  AND  MOTIVE  OE  WORLDEV  BUSINESS.  181 

philanthropy  and  self-denying  charity  which  Christianity 
kindles  in  the  soul  if  his  riches  have  been  obtained  in  any 
low,  mean,  undignified,  disreputable  and  illiberal  manner, 
or  by  refusing  to  patronize  and  adequately  support  the  many 
iDenevolent  enterprises  which  the  gospel  has  originated  around 
him.  But,  if,  with  the  discoveries  of  the  Bible  before  him, 
he  cannot  accuse  himself  of  narrowness  and  parsimony — if 
he  is  conscious  of  having  acted  a  kind  and  generous  part 
towards  friends  and  relations  who  have  needed  his  assist- 
ance— that  he  has  not  shut  up  his  bowels  of  compassion 
against  the  importunities  of  the  destitute — that  he  has  liber- 
ally— that  is,  in  full  proportion  to  his  means — contributed  to 
the  support  of  the  gospel  at  home  and  the  spread  of  that  gospel 
abroad— if  he  has  a  good  conscience  in  regard  to  all  these  mat- 
ters,— and  if  after  having  done  all,  God  has  so  blessed  his 
labours  that  he  has  a  surplus— some  thing  over  and  above  for 
which  he  has  no  immediate  need  and  the  cause  oi  Christ  no 
imperative  demand  according  to  the  rule  and  measure  of  its 
required  charity — let  him  not  scruple  to  lay  it  past — let  him  not 
feel  as  if  he  were  half-steaHng  in  storing  it  up— let  him  look 
upon  it  as  a  token  of  God's  favor  towards  him  and  as  an  indica- 
tion that  himself,  his  children  or  his  friends,  or  the  church  will 
stand  in  need  of  it  at  some  future  time.  The  increase  of  the 
man  who  has  all  along  been  scattering  with  a  bountiful  hand 
has  about  it  a  sacredness  and  a  sort  of  consecration  blessing — 
and  is  that  increase  which  may  emphatically  be  called  "the 
blessing  of  the  Lord."  There  is  not,  perhaps,  a  more 
beautiful  sight  on  earth  or  one  which  attracts  towards  it  greater 
homage,  admiration  and  regard — than  when  the  ability  and  the 
will  to  do  good  are  found  conjoined  ; — when  wealth  is  regarded 
as  a  talent  given  by  God  and  its  use  a  Stewardship  of  God's 
appointments ;  and  when  the  heart  and  the  hand  are  opened  in 
liberality  in  proportion  as  God  has  filled  them  with  His 
blessing.* 


*See  Job  xxix  :  12-24. 
31— Vol,  X. 


The  Relations  of  Christianity  to 
Civil  Polity 


A  DISCOURSE 

BY 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 
Charleston,  S.  C. 


October,  1S48. 


THE  RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO 
CIVIL  POLITY. 


R'om.  13:1-7:  Let  every  soul  be  subject  unto  the  higher  powers.  For 
there  is  no  power  but  of  God :  the  powers  that  be  are  ordained  of  God. 

Whosoever  therefore  resisteth  the  powers,  resisteth  the  ordained  of  God  : 
and  they  that  resist  shall  receive  to  themselves  damnation. 

For  rulers  are  not  a  terror  to  good  works,  but  to  the  evil.  Wilt  thou 
then  not  be  afraid  of  the  power?  Do  that  which  is  good,  and  thou  shalt 
have  praise  of  the  same. 

For  he  is  the  minister  of  God  to  thee  for  good.  But  if  thou  do  that 
which  is  evil,  be  afraid  ;  for  he  beareth  not  the  sword  in  vain  :  for  he  is 
the  minister  of  God,  a  revenger  to  execute  wrath  upon  him  that  doeth  evil. 

Wherefore  ye  must  needs  be  subject,  not  only  for  wrath,  but  also  for 
conscience  sake. 

For,  for  this  cause  pay  ye  tribute  also :  for  they  are  God's  ministers, 
attending  continually  upon  this  very  thing. 

Render  therefore  to  all  their  dues :  tribute  to  whom  tribute  is  due  ;  cus- 
tom to  whom  custom  :  fear  to  whom  fear :  honour  to  whom  honour. 

The  anniversary  of  our  National  Independence  has  again 
come  round  and  we  are  called  upon  to  meditate  upon  one  of 
the  most  wonderful  events  that  has  ever  transpired  in  the  his- 
tory of  man — wonderful  whether  we  consider  the  events  that 
preceded  it — the  circumstances  by  which  it  was  developed — or 
the  marvellous  and  daily  effects  in  the  convulsions  of  Europe 
which  are  still  flowing  from  it. 

Such  an  event  therefore  must  be  regarded  as  ordered  by 
Him  who  is  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords — who  ruleth 
amongst  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  as  well  as  among  the 
armies  of  heaven — whose  is  the  kingdom  and  governorship  of 
the  nations,  and  whose  dominion  is  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion. "The  Most  High  ruleth  in  the  kingdom  of  men  and 
giveth  it  to  whomsoever  He  will  and  setteth  up  over  it  the 
basest  of  men." 

In  this  event  then  we  plainly  see  God's  hand  and  God's 
Avorking.  In  vain  did  the  kings  of  the  earth  set  themselves 
against  it  and  the  princes  take  counsel  together.  He  that  sit- 
teth  in  the  heavens  laughed.  The  Lord  had  them  in  derision. 
The  Lord  of  Hosts  had  purposed  and  who  could  disannul,  and 
His  hand  was  stretched  out  and  who  could  turn  it  back  ? 

Religion,  therefore,  should  take  up  the  theme  of  this  anni- 
versary and  hallow  it  by  associating  it  with  the  glory  of  Him 
who  is  High  above  all  nations — and  with  the  grandeur  of  those 


486         THE  RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  CIVIL  POLITY. 

principles  which  are  mighty  through  God  to  the  pulHng  down 
of  the  strongholds  of  human  despotism. 

That  our  Revolution — our  Declaration  of  Independence  and 
our  form  of  government  are  clearly  traceable — as  their  foun- 
tain spring — to  religious  principles  and  religious  men  I  have 
on  former  occasions  endeavoured  to  establish.  On  this  occa- 
sion I  could  call  your  special  attention  to  the  relation  in  which, 
generally  speaking,  Christianity  stands  to  civil  polity — or  to 
what  may  be  termed  the  political  principles  of  the  Bible. 

The  importance  of  this  subject  none  can  question.  The 
Bible  is  now  the  book  of  the  world,  and  the  principles  of  the 
Bible  are,  or  soon  will  be,  the  principles  of  the  world.  The 
Avord  of  God  is  now  covering  the  earth  as  with  a  flood.  Its 
voice  is  going  forth  into  all  the  earth  and  its  sound  unto  the 
end  of  it.  It  is  saying  unto  the  nations  that  sit  in  darkness, 
"Let  there  be  light;"  and  light  is  scattering  before  it  the  shades 
of  error,  neither  is  there  any  dark  policy  of  man  that  can  lie 
hid  from  its  all-penetrating  and  all-transforming  energy.  It 
is  of  vital  importance,  therefore,  to  know  what  is  the  teaching 
of  this  oracle  upon  the  subject  of  human  government,  lest 
haply  we  be  found  resisting  the  ordinance  of  God,  and  with- 
standing the  free  course  of  that  righteousness  which  alone 
exalteth  any  nation. 

On  this  subject,  too,  as  on  most,  or  indeed  upon  all  others, 
there  are  opposite  opinions.  Some  maintain  that  religion  has 
no  concern  whatever  with  human  politics — that  the  entire 
domain  of  civil  polity,  in  all  its  bearings,  lies  beyond  the  pos- 
sible reach  of  Christianity  and  can  in  no  way  be  directly  influ- 
enced by  it,  and  that  all  the  affairs  of  society  are  therefore 
to  be  directed  solely  by  the  principles  of  common  sense  and 
political  expediency. 

Some  again  hold  views  directly  antagonistic  to  these  and 
maintain  with  equal  assurance  that  religion  must  necessarily 
interfere  with  all  political  concerns,  all  things  being  subject 
to  its  direction  and  control. 

Between  these  two  extremes  the  human  mind  has  continu- 
ally veered.  The  State  has  either  governed  the  religious  com- 
munity or  been  governed  by  it.  Nations  have  either  been  in 
subjection  to  a  hierarchy,  or  both  hierarchy  and  people  have 


THE  RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  CIVIL  POLITY.         487 

been  under  the  supreme  control  of  civil  despotism.  Egypt 
was  probably  an  example  of  the  former,  and  ancient  Greece 
and  Rome  illustrations  of  the  latter.  In  more  modern  times 
we  find  the  civil  power  enslaved  to  the  ecclesiastical  wherever 
the  church  of  Rome  has  been  permitted  to  exercise  unlimited 
dominion,  while  in  England  the  church  has  been  made  the 
creature  of  the  State.  And  such  is  the  condition  to  which 
most  European  nations  are  now  rapidly  tending,  or  to  which, 
as  in  Prussia  and  elsewhere,  they  have  long  attained. 

In  this  country  the  current  of  popular  sentiment  runs  in  the 
opposite  direction  and  excludes  all  recognition  of  divine 
authority,  divine  instruction  and  divine  institutions  from  its 
government  and  legislation. 

Now  the  truth  on  this  subject  lies  in  neither  of  these 
extremes.  They  are  both  erroneous,  both  dangerous,  and 
both  productive  of  detriment  both  to  civil  government  and  to 
the  christian  church.  The  interests  of  society  and  of  religion 
are  alike  endangered  by  the  adoption  of  either  of  these 
theories.  They  will  inevitably  lead,  as  they  ever  have  done, 
to  collision,  strife,  jealousy,  persecution  and  intolerance,  or, 
on  the  other  hand,  they  will  foster  and  promote  a  spirit  of 
atheistic  and  ungodly  infidelity. 

On  the  authority  of  Scripture  we  reject  and  condemn  both, 
and  look  for  the  correct  theory  in  a  middle  course,  which 
recognizes  the  truth  inherent  in  both  these  views  and  rejects 
the  extremes  to  which  both  are  led  by  carrying  this  truth 
beyond  its  legitimate  bounds.  The  one  extreme  lands  us  in 
the  doctrine  of  Erastianism,  which  denies  the  independent  and 
divine  authority  of  the  ecclesiastical  government  or  of  the 
church  and  confounds  and  amalgamates  the  State  and  the 
church ;  and  the  other  extreme  forces  upon  us  the  theory  of 
the  self-styled  Liberalists,  who  exclude  God  and  His  word 
from  any  bearing  upon  civil  polity. 

What  then,  we  ask,  are  the  teachings  of  the  Bible  on  this 
subject?  To  this  question  we  will  endeavour  to  give  a  brief 
and  comprehensive  answer.  In  the  first  place  Christianity 
teaches  us  that  there  is  a  civil  government  and  an  ecclesiastical 
government — both  instituted  and  appointed  by  God ;  that  these 
are   committed   to    certain   officers,   with    rights,    power   and 


4:8S         THE  RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  CIVIL  POLITY. 

authority  to  conduct  the  same;  that  they  are  independent  and 
distinct  in  their  whole  field  of  operations;  and  yet  that  they 
are  co-ordinate  and  conducive  to  the  common  good  of  the 
whole  community;  so  that  while  they  can  never  commingle, 
they  can  never  be  safely  disjoined.  The  rights,  power  and 
authority  of  the  church  are  therefore  to  be  recognized  by  the 
State  and  upheld,  protected  and  secured  in  their  free  and 
untrammeled  exercise.  The  rights,  power  and  authority  of 
the  State  are  in  like  manner  to  be  recognized  by  the  church, 
and  are  to  be  upheld,  protected  and  secured  in  their  free  and 
untrammeled  exercise.  Both  the  church  and  the  State  are 
under  obligation  to  recognize  as  their  foundation  and  authority 
the  institution  and  authority  of  God;  to  inquire  into  His  will 
and  the  just  ends  and  limits  of  their  authority;  to  confess 
His  supreme  dominion ;  to  seek  His  blessing,  and  to  avert  His 
anger  by  avoiding  what  is  contrary  to  His  known  require- 
ments ;  and  by  giving  free  course  to  the  diffusion  of  His  truth 
and  the  maintenance  of  His  instituted  means  for  the  promo- 
tion of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  prosperity.  But  of  the  mutual 
relations  of  the  civil  and  the  spiritual  powers  we  will  treat  at 
another  time.  Our  present  subject  is  the  teaching  of  the  Bil)le 
in  reference  to  civil  government  and  the  politics  of  earth. 

Human  government  and  authority  may  be  considered  in 
their  primary  or  in  their  secondary  origin — in  their  ultimate  or 
in  their  immediate  source  of  power. 

Now  in  their  primary  origin  human  government  and 
authority  are  divine.  Their  source  is  the  bosom  of  God  and 
their  obligation  the  power  of  God.  "There  is,"  says  Scripture, 
"no  power  but  of  God,  and  the  powers  that  be  are  ordained 
of  God."  Every  government  therefore,  as  it  regards  the 
foundation  and  obligations  of  its  authority,  is  a  theocracy, 
derived  immediately  from  God,  and  enforced  and  adjudged 
by  God.  The  Bible  utterly  condemns  the  principle  now  so 
applauded  in  senates,  toasted  by  Bacchanals,  sung  by  poets, 
and  sustained  by  philosophers  and  political  economists — that 
men's  rights  in  respect  to  one  another  are  to  be  defined  by 
themselves — that  utility  is  the  standard  of  right,  and  that  the 
people  are  the  sovereign  source  of  all  power.  This  theory 
of    Hobbes,    Machiaval,    and    others,    is    essentially    infidel. 


THE  KELATIOXS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  CIVIL  POLITY.  481) 

Societies,  as  well  as  individuals,  are  under  law  l)Ound  to  God — 
all  power  belongeth  unto  Him — and  by  it  the  authority  of 
rulers  and  the  liberty  of  the  citizen  are  prescribed.  Such  is 
the  clear  and  unequivocal  doctrine  of  the  Bible,  and  such  also 
is  the  consenting  voice  of  the  primitive  and  original  sentiment 
of  mankind.  "With  one  consent  we  find  all  the  wise  among 
the  ancients  basing  their  authority  on  religion.  Zalencus. 
Plato,  Cicero,  founded  the  laws  which  they  recommended  on 
its  sanction.  They  saw  the  impossibility  of  the  passions  of 
men  being  controlled  without  the  acknowledgment  of  a  future 
state  with  its  rewards  and  punishments.  Therefore,  Zalencus, 
in  his  preface  to  his  laws,  says,  Xet  every  inhabitant,  whether 
of  town  or  country,  first  be  persuaded  of  the  being  and  exist- 
ence of  the  gods.'  Cicero's  introduction  to  his  laws  is  as 
follows :  'Let  our  citizen,  then,  be  firmly  persuaded  of  the 
government  and  dominion  of  the  gods;  that  they  are  the  lords 
and  masters  of  the  universe ;  that  all  things  are  directed  by 
their  powerful  disposal  and  providence.'  "  Society  coheres 
and  exists  by  virtue  of  this  sense  of  responsibility  and  obliga- 
tion, cherished  alike  by  the  ruler  and  the  ruled.  This  is  the 
basis  of  law  and  order,  of  peaceful  and  orderly  submission, 
and  hence  of  all  the  blessings  of  society.  But  this  can  be 
found  only  in  religion.  The  reason  of  men  never  concurred 
in  any  one  form  of  government,  and  could  never  therefore 
enforce  it.  Mere  reason  can  only  declare  and  persuade — it 
cannot  enforce  or  command.  Even,  therefore,  if  men  could 
originate,  they  could  not  preserve  or  perpetuate  civil  polity, 
since  without  the  constraint  of  some  superior  authority  men 
would  never  be  restrained  and  governed  by  laws  which  they 
themselves  enacted  and  whose  whole  force  depended  on  their 
own  will  and  not  upon  the  authority  of  one  who  had  a  right  to 
command  and  enforce  them. 

In  their  primary  source,  therefore,  the  force  and  authority 
of  civil  government  are  from  God.  But  in  their  secondary 
or  immediate  source  the  power  and  authority  of  civil  govern- 
ment are  from  men.  to  whose  reason,  to  whose  inmate  tenden- 
cies towards  society,  and  to  the  fundamental  principles  of 
rights  and  duties  implanted  in  whose  moral  nature,  God  has 
committed  the  particular   form  and  exercise  of  civil  power, 


490         THE  RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  CIVIL  POLITY. 

subject,  however,  to  the  general  rules  and  regulations  of  His 
word.  All  questions  relating  to  the  particular  form  of  gov- 
ernment, and  to  the  particular  laws  and  regulations  of  every 
particular  society,  are  left  to  the  reason  and  judgment  of  men. 
All  these — except  so  far  as  they  involve  principles  of 
unchangeable  morality — are  matters  with  which  the  Bible 
never  once  interferes  and  over  which  religion,  therefore,  has 
no  direct  control.  Founding  society  upon  a  divine  institution, 
clothing  its  authority  with  divine  obligation,  and  accompany- 
ing its  laws  with  a  divine  sanction,  Christianity  leaves  civil 
government  unfettered  in  carrying  out  such  measures  as  are 
found  in  every  particular  community  conducive  to  the  com- 
mon good. 

To  further  this  end  Christianity  carefully  distinguishes  the 
respective  provinces  of  the  civil  and  the  ecclesiastical  authori- 
ties— the  one  being  founded  on  the  law  of  God,  as  manifested 
in  the  constitution  of  our  minds,  and  the  other  being  based 
upon  God's  positive  and  written  word ; — the  one  being  occu- 
pied with  the  outward  man  and  the  temporal  affairs  and  inter- 
ests of  society,  and  the  other  with  the  inward  man  and  with 
man's  spiritual  welfare; — the  one  having  authority  to  frame 
and  enforce  compulsory  laws,  and  the  other  having  a  minis- 
terial authority  to  administer  the  laws  of  the  spiritual  king- 
dom, and  to  enforce  them  by  instruction  and  moral  influence, 
but  having  no  power  to  compel  or  to  inflict  any  civil  penal- 
ties ; — the  one  being  left  to  adapt  itself  to  the  varying  circum- 
stances of  society,  while  the  other  in  its  general  principles  is 
immutably  the  same; — the  one  having  authority  over  every 
soul  within  its  limits,  while  the  latter  has  direct  control  only 
over  its  voluntary  membership,  the  neglect  of  others  being 
left  to  the  judgment  of  God,  whose  kingdom  it  is  and  to  whom 
vengeance  belongeth. 

Christianity  interferes  not,  therefore,  with  the  management 
of  merely  secular  affairs.  She  keeps  aloof  from  all  worldly 
parties  formed  for  worldly  and  political  purposes.  She  knows 
no  man  and  no  set  of  men  according  to  the  flesh.  From  all 
political  partizanship  she  keeps  aloof,  leaving  the  dead  to  bury 
their  dead.  She  is  no  busy  body  in  other  men's  matters.  One 
is  her  master,  even  Christ;  one  her  object,  the  .salvation  of 


THE  RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  CIVIL  POLITY.         491 

men ;  and  one  her  instrumentality,  the  preaching  of  the  truth. 
The  members  of  the  church  are  of  course  citizens  of  the  com- 
monwealth, and  as  such  they  will  act  for  the  best  interests  of 
the  community,  but  woe  unto  those  churches,  those  ministers 
or  those  christians  who  are  found  allying  themselves  with 
worldly  parties,  originated  by  worldly  men,  guided  by  worldly 
principles,  and  aiming  at  worldly  ends.  "My  kingdoni,"  says 
Christ,  "is  not  of  this  world." 

Christianity — while  she  thus  keeps  aloof  from  political  par- 
ties— is  equally  opposed  to  political  chicanery.  She  knows 
nothing  of  a  time-serving  variable  morality,  which  sanctions 
any  means  deemed  necessary  to  accomplish  any  ends.  Expedi- 
ency is  no  standard  of  truth ;  nor  the  fancied  good  of  a  party 
any  warrant  for  a  course  of  doubtful  propriety.  The  trick 
and  cunning  of  short-sighted  policy  Christianity  abhors.  Noth- 
ing can  be  right  in  politics  which  is  wrong  in  morals.  No 
course  can  be  adopted  from  expediency  which  is  condemned 
by  principle.  The  pliant  wisdom  of  the  world  finds  no  toler- 
ance at  the  bar  of  unalterable  rectitude.  The  immutable 
requirements  of  the  eternal  law  of  God  can  never  adapt  them- 
selves to  the  changing  and  uncertain  currents  of  public  opinion. 
To  such  a  tribunal  Christianity  allows  no  appeal  and  to  its 
decisions  no  submission.  Where  principle  is  in  question 
Christianity  tolerates  no  trick  and  cunning  of  apparent  conces- 
sion or  real  evasion,  and  the  actual  sacrifice  of  principle  to 
expediency  she  brands  as  treason  to  the  Majesty  of  heaven, 
and  condemns  as  the  prostitution  of  virtue.  "Her  principles 
are  fixed  and  cannot  be  moved.  Her  hands  are  clean  and 
cannot  be  defiled.  Her  allegiance  is  registered  and  cannot  be 
broken.  Her  leader  is  chosen  and  cannot  be  deserted.  When 
she  is  required  to  interfere  she  does  so  with  the  voice  of  a 
stern  and  uncompromising  moralist,  condemning  the  base 
truckling  of  principle  to  expediency,  utterly  interdicting  the 
employment  of  worldly  chicanery  and  requiring  politicians  not 
to  direct  their  ear  to  the  voice  of  public  opinion,  but  to  direct 
public  opinion  to  the  voice  of  God." 

Christianity  further  defines  and  limits  the  true  ends  of  civil 
government — its  scope  and  design.  "The  punishment  of  evil- 
doers and  the  praise  of  them  that  do  well" — these  are  the  ends 


492         THE  RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  CIVIL  POLITY. 

and  purposes  of  civil  government  as  "the  ordinance  of  God." 
"The  minister  of  God  for  good" — this  is  the  Hmit  by  which  all 
just  authority  is  bounded  and  all  obedience  "not  for  wrath, 
but  for  conscience  sake"  is  bounded.  By  going  to  either 
extreme  of  this  prescribed  line,  a  government  must  degenerate 
into  oppression  or  sink  into  contempt.  Christianity  authorizes 
neither  irresponsible  and  unrestrained  authority,  nor  nnplicit 
passive  and  unqualified  obedience.  Those  in  authority  are 
required  to  seek  the  true  good  of  those  they  serve,  and  there- 
fore to  prevent  and  punish  the  wrong  and  encourage  the  right. 
And  in  the  exercise  of  such  just  authority  citizens  are 
required — "every  soul  to  be  subject  to  the  higher  powers,"  "to 
be  subject  to  principalities  and  powers,"  and  "to  obey  magis- 
trates not  only  for  wrath,  but  for  conscience  sake."  A  gov- 
ernment, therefore,  is  good  in  proportion  as  it  secures  an 
effective  administration  of  wise  laws  and  the  conscientious 
obedience  of  a  law-abiding  people.  This  is  the  true  merit  of 
a  representative  government. 

The  great  problem  of  political  philosophy,  is  to  devise  a 
constitution  which  shall  give  the  amplest  security  for  indi- 
vidual rights — the  amplest  scope  for  the  development  of  man's 
nature  in  all  its  important  relations,  and  which  shall  thus 
approximate  most  nearly  in  all  its  purposes  and  plans  to  the 
true,  the  just,  the  good.  In  other  words,  a  constitution  which 
should  provide  in  every  case  that  only  reason  should  prevail 
would,  as  Milton  intimates,  be  absolutely  perfect.  It  is  a  great 
mistake  to  suppose  that  the  end  of  government  is  to  accomplish 
the  will  of  the  people.  The  State  is  a  divine  ordinance,  a 
social  institute,  founded  on  the  principle  of  justice,  and  it  has 
great  moral  purposes  to  subserve,  in  relation  to  which  the  con- 
stitution of  its  government  may  be  pronounced  good  or  bad. 
The  will  of  the  people  should  be  done  only  when  the  people 
will  what  is  right.  The  representative  principle  is  a  check 
upon  their  power — an  expedient  to  restrain  what  would  other- 
wise be  an  intolerable  despotism  within  the  limits  of  an 
authority  which  they  are  bound  to  respect — the  authority  of 
right.*     There   is  no  misapprehension  more   dangerous   than 

*See  Lieber's  Political  Ethics,  vol.  I,  Book  IT.  sees.  113,  114.  We  make 
the  following  extract :  "Here  then  we  find  the  great  principle  of  a  repre- 


THE  RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  CIVIL  POLITY.         -tDo 

that  which  confounds  representatiYC  government  with  the 
essential  principle  of  pure  democracy.  It  is  not  a  contrivance 
to  adapt  the  exercise  of  supreme  power  on  the  part  of  the 
people  to  extensive  territory  or  abundant  population — to  meet 
the  physical  impediments  which  in  large  States  must  obviously 
exist  to  the  collection  of  their  citizens  in  one  vast  assembly. 
It  is  not  because  the  people  cannot  meet,  but  because  they 
ought  not  to  meet,  that  the  representative  coimcil,  in  modern 
times,  is  preferred  to  the  ancient  convocations  in  the  forum  or 
the  market  place. f  Power  has  a  natural  tendency  to  settle 
into  despotism ;  and  the  legitimate  ends  of  the  vState  may  be  as 
completely  defeated  by  the  absolute  power  of  the  people,  in  the 
absence  of  proper  checks  and  restraints,  as  by  the  a!)solute 
power  of  a  single  ruler.  Absolute  power  is  tyranny,  whether 
in  the  hands  of  large  masses,  of  privileged  orders,  or  of  single 
individuals ;  and  a  government  Avhich  aspires  to  be  free  has 
made  but  slender  advances  when  it  has  only  changed  the  seat 
of  authority.  The  representative  principle  is  accordingly  to 
be  prized,  not  as  an  approximation  to  a  pure  democracy,  but 
as  an  independent  institution,  having  its  own  peculiar  advan- 
tages, not  the  least  of  which  is  to  guard  against  the  evils  inci- 
dent to  popular  masses.!  The  hinderances  which,  in  the  one 
case,  exist  t6  the  discovery  of  truth  are,  in  the  other,  removed. 
It  is  an  expedient  to  secure  the  ends  of  government  without 
the  inconveniences  to  which  every  other  institution  is  subject. 
Its  assemblies  are  essentially  deliberative,  and  its  processes 
are  correspondingly  cautious. 

sentative  government,  even  in  a  democratic  republic.  It  is  not  because 
the  people  are  too  nnmerons,  and  cannot  any  longer  assemble  in  the  market, 
as  in  the  ancient  republics,  that  representative  governments  are  advisable, 
or  have  become  necessary,  merely  by  way  of  expediting  business,  but  it  is 
on  the  very  same  principle  that  a  monarch,  who  interferes  himself  and 
does  not  leave  matters  to  their  proper  authorities,  even  in  absolute  mon- 
archies, is  considered  to  act  despotically  ;  that  the  people,  if  they  hold  the 
supreme  power,  must  not  act  themselves,  but  ought  to  act  through  agents. 
He  who  has  power,  absolute  and  direct,  abuses  it ;  man's  frailty  is  too 
great ;  man  is  not  made  for  absolute  power." 

t"We,  the  people."  says  Dr.  Lieber,  "are  not  absent  from  the  legislative 
halls,  because,  for  local  reasons,  we  cannot  be  there,  but  because  we  ought 
not  to  be  there  as  people,  as  mass,  for  the  same  reason,  that  in  monarchies 
the  king  is  not  allowed  to  be  present  in  the  halls  of  justice,  or  as  the 
legislators  cannot  debate  in  the  presence  of  the  monarch."— Political  Ethics, 
vol.  II,  Book  VI,  sec.  8. 

JFor  a  masterly  Exhibition  of  the  real  nature  and  advantage  of  Repre- 
sentative Government,  see  Lieber's  Political  Ethics,  vol.  II.  Book  VI.  from 
sec.  6  to  the  close  of  the  first  chapter.  Compare  also  Brougham's  Political 
Philosophy,  vol.  Ill,  chap.  8. 


494         THE  RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  CIVIL  POLITY. 

That  a  government  may  secure,  in  the  largest  degree,  the 
prosperity  and  happiness  of  the  people,  two  conditions  seem 
to  be  essential :  An  accurate  knowledge  of  their  circumstances 
and  wants,  and  a  fixed  purpose  to  aim  at  the  collective  inter- 
ests of  the  whole.  The  representative  plan  fulfills  both  con- 
ditions— the  first  by  entrusting  the  election  of  representatives 
to  small  communities,  so  that  each  portion  of  the  country  may 
possess  an  organ  to  express  its  own  wishes  and  desires — the 
second  by  making  each  representative,  while  he  is  the  organ 
of  a  narrow  section,  the  representative,  at  the  same  time,  of 
the  whole  State.  The  wants  of  all  are  made  known,  and  by 
wise  and  free  discussion  the  measures  which  ought  to  be 
adopted  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  whole  are  likely  to  be 
elicited. 

But  Christianity  still  further  provides  for  the  welfare  of 
society.  Requiring  a  government  founded  in  right,  conducted 
with  a  single  desire  to  secure  the  greatest  good  of  the  greatest 
number,  and  deserving,  as  it  demands,  the  obedience  of  prin- 
ciple and  conscience,  she  makes  it  incumbent  upon  all  to  pay 
tribute  also.  Economy  and  retrenchment  are  not  therefore 
to  be  sought  for  their  own  sake,  but  are  only  to  be  aimed  at 
and  expected  in  consistency  with  a  liberal  provision  for  the 
best  interests  of  society.  In  levying  tribute  and  incurring 
liabilities  rulers  are  to  remember,  on  the  one  hand,  that  they 
are  God's  accountable  stewards ;  and  in  meeting  their  require- 
ments citizens  are  to  remember  that,  on  the  other  hand,  they 
are  God's  accountable  debtors,  and  that  in  rendering  unto 
Csesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's  they  are  rendering  unto  God 
the  things  that  are  God's. 

But,  further,  Christianity  brings  civil  government  into  still 
closer  relations  to  God's  immediate  oversight  and  control.  It 
carries  it  into  the  very  sanctuary  and  sanctifies  it  by  the  word 
of  God  and  of  prayer.  It  commands  that  "supplications. 
prayers,  intercessions  and  giving  of  thanks  be  made  for  all 
meii."     (1  Tim.  2:  1,  2.) 

Christianity,  therefore,  regards  the  aflPairs  of  society  as  con- 
ducted not  merely  between  man  and  man,  but  also  between  man 
and  his  God,  and  places  patriotism  among  the  virtues  that 
come  from  above  and  not  among  the  selfish  carnalities  that 


THE  RELATIOXS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  CIVIL  POLITY.  495 

have  their  spring  and  origin  in  the  earth.  Prayer,  therefore, 
which  is  "a  constant  reference  of  all  things  to  God,"  is  made 
the  sacred  guardian  of  the  public  weal. 

All  forms  of  human  government,  "whether  they  be  thrones, 
or  dominions,  or  principalities,  or  powers,"  are  thus  repre- 
sented by  Christianity  as  under  the  immediate  providence  and 
control  of  Christ,  who  is  "the  head  of  all  principality  and 
power,"  "far  above  all  principality  and  power  and  every  name 
that  is  named,  both  in  this  world  and  in  that  which  is  to  come," 
"the  Lord  of  lords  and  King  of  kings"  and  "head  over  all 
things  to  His  church."  (Col.  1,  16,  and  2,  10;  Eph.  1,  21,  22; 
Rev.  17,  14,  and  19,  16.)  The  sovereignty  and  dominion  of 
Christ,  as  the  source  of  power  and  authority,  and  of  the  pros- 
perity and  true  exaltation  of  a  nation,  is, — according  to 
Christianity, — the  fundamental  principle  of  all  true  govern- 
ment— the  only  infallible  standard  of  the  duty  of  rulers  and  of 
the  rights  of  citizens ;  and  the  only  efficient  source  of  true 
liberty,  national  wealth,  peace,  morality  and  security.  On  this 
subject  the  Bible  is  full  and  explicit,*  representing  Christ  as 
giving  to  nations  their  existence,  watching  over  them,  demand- 
ing obedience,  overruling  rebellion,  executing  judgments  and 
changing  their  constitution.  And  the  true  regeneration  and 
perfection  of  society  will  be  found,  therefore,  in  protecting 
the  christian  religion,  in  professing  it,  in  honouring  the  Sab- 
bath, and  in  thus  giving  free  course  to  all  its  heavenly  influ- 
ences. 

We  might  still  further  dwell  upon  the  influence  of  Christi- 
anity in  favouring  equal  and  impartial  liberty,  in  protecting 
the  rights  of  the  weak  and  the  powerless,  in  embodying  the 
principles  of  representation  in  its  doctrines  and  its  polity,  in 
fostering  intelligence  and  promoting  education  in  all  its  forms, 
and  in  requiring  principle  and  a  sacred  regard  to  truth,  honor, 
justice  and  the  common  good,  in  the  exercise  of  every  civil 
right.  Rut  we  forbear.  We  have  said  enough  to  show  that 
Christianity,  while  it  is  in  its  own  visible  and  ecclesiastical 
organizations  essentially  distinct,  has,  nevertheless,  the  most 
vitally  important  relations  to  civil  polity;  and  while  it  brings 

*Ps.  10.  10:  47,  2-9;  72.  10-17.  Is.  49.  22,  and  60.  lO-lfi.  Dan.  7.  i;i-14. 
Rev.   11,  15. 


496         THE  RELATIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  CIVIL  POLITY. 

home  to  our  bosoms  life  and  immortality,  "has  the  promise  of 
the  life  that  now  is  as  well  as  that  which  is  to  come  " 

While  we  rejoice  in  Christianity,  therefore,  as  the  fountain 
of  life  and  hope  for  eternity,  let  us  not  less  glory  in  it  as  the 
true  foundation  upon  which  to  build  the  fame  and  greatness 
of  a  nation ;  and  while  we  choose  her  as  our  guide  and  com- 
panion to  "glory,  honor  and  immortality,"  let  us  also  make  her 
our  guide  and  companion  in  all  the  duties  and  events  of  life. 

She  consecrates  our  homes,  our  cities  and  our  municipali- 
ties. Our  States  and  our  confederation  are  under  her  benign 
protection  and  blessing.  She  clothes  our  legislators  with  wis- 
dom, our  judges  with  righteousness,  our  magistrates  with 
integrity,  and  our  citizens  with  honesty,  frugality,  industry 
and  peace.  She  bids  God-speed  to  our  schools  and  seminaries, 
to  our  colleges  and  universities.  She  gives  peace  at  home  and 
prosperity  abroad.  She  defeats  the  machinations  of  hell  and 
the  strife  of  men. 

Nor  does  she  turn  away  from  our  civic  and  domestic  joys. 
She  frowns  on  no  rational  and  profitable  amusement  and  dis- 
courages no  reasonable  outburst  of  national  enthusiasm.  She 
welcomes,  therefore,  this  national  anniversary,  with  its  loud 
anthem  of  national  praise  and  dusty  cheer,  and  only  says  to  us 
as  we  go  forth  to  its  celebration:  Remember  that  to  me  and 
the  principles  I  have  created  you  owe  that  civil  and  religious 
freedom  and  all  those  private,  social  and  national  blessings  in 
which  you  so  justly  rejoice.  Therefore,  while  enjoying  the 
gift,  forget  not  to  love,  serve  and  honor  the  great  and  glorious 
Giver. 


32_Vol.  X. 


The  Christian's  Principle  and 
Motive  in  Voting 


A  DISCOURSE 

BY 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 
Charleston,  S.  C. 


THE   CHRISTIAN'S   PRINCIPLE   AND 
MOTIVE  IN  VOTING. 


1  Cor.  10:  31:  Whether  therefore  ye  eat  or  drink,  or  whatever  ye  do,  do 
all  to  the  glory  of  God. 

It  is  one  of  the  many  remarkable  facts  in  this  year  that  the 
Sabbath  falls  upon  the  fourth  of  July. 

The  occasion  demands,  therefore,  and  makes  proper,  the  con- 
sideration of  topics  which  would  be  irrelevant  on  most  ordinary 
occasions. 

We  are  powerfully  reminded,  my  bretliren',  on  this  occasion 
that  we  are  citizens  of  a  republic  in  whidh  by  the  very  constitu- 
tion of  the  land,  every  man  is  entrusted  with  an  ultimate  and 
powerful  influence  in  shaping  its  counsels  and  thus  of  con- 
trolling its  destinies.  The  ballot  box  is  the  primary  and  the 
most  potential  source  of  authority  where  it  is  made  accessible 
to  ever)'  citizen  without  regard  to  rank,  character  or  official 
station.  Universal  suffrage,  in  combination  with  representa- 
tive offices  given  and  withdrawn  at  the  will  of  the  peoj^le,  is 
the  nearest  conceivable  approach  to  universal  and  unlimited 
freedom.  Whether  even  in  this  country  the  entire  mass  of  the 
people  are  prepared  to  hold  the  reins  and  guide  aright  the 
chariot  of  State,  is  a  question  about  which  I  have  the  most 
anxious  solicitude.  Certain  it  is  that  knowledge,  intelligence 
and  moral  principle  are  essential  to  the  safe  and  successful  dis- 
charge of  such  a  responsible  duty  and  that  our  only  hope  even 
for  the  perpetuation  of  our  civil  and  reHgious  liberties  lies  in 
diffusing  through  the  greater  portion  of  the  people  principles 
of  pure  and  undefiled  religi9n  which  are  the  only  principles  of 
pure  and  disinterested  patriotism. 

Christianity  is  the  conservative  element  of  human  society  and 
the  vital  principle  of  a  republic.  This  is  the  light  which  alone 
can  direct.  This  is  the  leaven  which  alone  can  purify.  This 
is  the  salt  which  can  alone  preserve.  This  is  the  spirit  and  the 
life  which  alone  can  exalt  the  nation.  Christianity  is  not  poli- 
tics nor  the  church  the  state,  and  yet  it  is  essential  to  the  per- 
fection, the  purity  and  the  true  glory  of  both. — having  the 
promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  as  well  as  of  that  which  is  to 


503  PRINCIPLE    AND    MOTIVE    IN    VOTING. 

come,  and  being  profitable  to  all  things  whether  they  pertain  to 
life  or  godliness.  By  imbuing  the  minds  of  men  with  holy 
principles  and  securing  God's  favor  which  is  able  to  compass 
as  with  a  shield,  righteousness  will  exalt  a  nation,  while  its 
absence  will  lead  to  the  iiiicrease  of  that  sin  which  is  the 
reproach  and  corruption  of  any  people  and  thus  incur  the  fury 
of  that  divine  vengeance  which  will  be  poured  out  on  the 
nations  that  forget  God. 

True  religion  is  based  upon  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
which  works  by  love, — which  constantly  operates  on  the  heart 
and  life, — which  influences  a  man's  feelings,  purposes,  princi- 
ples and  practices.  Thus  faith  works  in  him — ^in  public  and  in 
private,  day  after  day,  and  hour  after  hour, — making  him 
watchful,  prayerful  and  humble, — careful  to  fulfil  his  duties  in 
every  relatioin  and  circumstance  of  life,  and  prompting  him  to 
be  perfect  as  his  father  in  heaven  is  perfect  and  whatsoever  he 
does  to  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God. 

And  if,  my  brethren,  as  has  been  seen,  the  ballot  box  is  the 
essential  and  fundamental  principle  of  repubHcan  security,  it 
follows  that  in  the  exercise  of  this  prerogative  every  christian 
is  bound  to  act  deliberately,  disinterestedly  io  the  fear  of  God, 
and  with  a  single  eye  to  the  best  interests  of  the  commonwealth. 
This  consideration  I  will  now  press  upon  you.  And  when  we 
consider  all  the  abominations  attendant  upon  our  frequent  and 
numerous  elections, — the  'bribery,  corruption  and  drunkenness, 
— the  perjury,  dishonesty  and  falsehood, — the  ignorance,  indif- 
ference and  frivolity, — the  meanness,  malignity  and  servility — 
and  all  the  other  evils  attendant  upon  them. — we  will  be  con- 
strained to  regard  this  as  a  subject  of  primary  importance  and 
regard. 

Allow  me,  theui,  to  urge  it  upon  the  conscience  of  each  one  of 
you  who  is  entitled  by  law  to  vote  on  the  election  of  any  public 
officers  that  in  exercising  this  right  you  are  called  upon  to  dis- 
charge an  important  duty.  It  is  no  light  and  trifling  matter 
to  be  considered  and  settled  in  a  tavern  or  in  the  street  caucus, 
but  a  most  weighty  and  serious  duty.  You  have  to  make 
choice  among  the  candidates  for  your  vote  of  one  who  will 
represent  you.  Represent,  I  say,  you,  that  is,  take  his  place  in 
your  stead  and  act  in  whatever  sphere  he  is  appointed  to  fill  as 


PRINCIPLE    AND    MOTIVE    IN    VOTING.  503 

you  yourself  would  wish  to  act,  were  it  possible  and  expedient 
that  every  man  should  act  in  the  premises  personally  and  for 
himself.  Now,  just  consider  how  important  it  is  to  have  as 
your  representative  an  intelligent,  conscienitious  man ;  a  man 
capable  of  filling  the  station  with  which  he  is  entrusted  with 
dignity,  propriety  and  efficiency;  a  man  able  to  examine  and 
comprehend  subjects  of  a  wide  and  far-reaching  nature ;  and 
a  man  of  whom  you  have  some  security  that  he  will  act  on 
principles  of  integrity,  impartiality  and  disinterested  regard  for 
the  public  welfare.  Consider  what  manifold  and  mighty  influ- 
ences are  subjected  to  their  control,  even  where  they  fill  local 
and  civic  offices.  Consider  how  this  influence  for  good  or  ill 
is  increased  as  the  office  held  becomes  more  extended  in  its 
relations.  Reflect  upon  the  all-important  matters  on  which  our 
legislators  and  national  representatives  are  called  upon  tO'  delib- 
erate and  decide — whatever,  in  short,  afifects  the  peace,  pros- 
perity and  happiness  of  the  commiunity.  Take,  for  example, 
the  single  question  w*hether  or  not  supplies  shall  be  granted  for 
prosecuting  or  commencing  a  war  with  some  foreign  nation. 
Reflect  on  the  guilt  and  misery  involved  in  determining  in 
favor  of  such  a  measure  upon  insufficient  or  improper  grounds. 
Think  of  the  wounded, — the  maimed, — the  slain, — the  Avidows, 
—the  orphans, — ^the  desolate  homes, — the  agonized  hearts — 
together  with  other  evils,  private,  social,  and  puWic,  affecting 
the  revenue,  the  tariff  and  the  morals  of  the  community, — evils 
which  are  nameless  and  numberless.  The  effects  of  every  such 
war  are  countless  and  intricate  as  the  branches  of  a  forest. 

Consider,  again,  the  effects  which  must  ultimately  ensue 
from  direct  or  indirect  encouragement  on  the  part  of  public 
men  of  the  neglect,  profanation,  and  overthrow  of  the  inviola- 
ble character  of  the  Sabbath  as  a  moral  institution  founded 
upon  our  physical,  mental  and  moral  constitution  and  absolutely 
essential,  therefore,  to  national  prosperity.  What  mighty  con- 
sequences, also,  are  involved  in  the  nature,  extent,  and  general 
character  of  that  education  which  is  provided  for  the  mass  of 
the  people,  and  in  what  numberless  ways  your  interests  and 
those  of  your  family,  your  children  and  posterity,  are  com- 
mitted to  the  unavoidable  discretion  of  the  men  to  whom  you 
entrust  your  representative  authority. 


504  PRINCIPLE    AND    MOTIVE    IN    VOTING. 

Our  govemmenit  is  not, — it  is  true, —  a  christian  government, 
'because  Christ's  kingdom  is  not  of  this  w^orld, — but  it  is  a  gov- 
emmenit created  by  christian  men, — framed  in  accordance  with 
christian  principles, — founded  upon'  and  presupposing  christian 
institutions  as  existing  in  the  land — and  looking  to  the  influ- 
ence and  power  of  christian  principles  for  its  growth,  stability 
and  permanency.  Our  government  never  would  have  been 
conceived — devised — determined  —  instituted —  and  triumph- 
antly established  but  for  Christianity,  and  it  cannot  outlast  the 
subversion,  or  practical  neglect  of  Christianity  and  its  institu- 
tions a  single  day.  The  wisdom  to  devise  good  laws,  the  alle- 
giance that  will  supix>rt,  uphold  and  obey  them' — and  the  power 
necessary  to  administer  and  enforce  them — can  only  flow  from 
that  religion  which  founds  government  upon  the  ordinance  of 
God  and  demands  obedience  on  the  ground  of  conscientious 
©"bligation. 

The  exercise  of  your  prerogative,  therefore,  in  voting  at  elec- 
tions is  cm/  important  duty. 

I  remark,  secondly,  that  it  is  an  arduous  and  self-denying 
duty ;  that  is,  when  truly  and  properly  discharged,  for  nothing 
could  be  easier  than  to  attend  at  the  polls  and  give  your  vote  as 
pride,  passion,  interest  or  indifiFerence  may  dictate.  The  politi- 
cal partisan,  like  a  poor  senseless  sheep,  follows  his  flock  though 
it  may  be  over  a  precipice  of  corruption,  wbile  the  honest, 
thoughtful  and  independent  citizen  weighs  well  and  wisely  the 
reasons  of  his  cause.  To  him  the  exercise  of  his  autliority 
and  power  is  a  duty  undertaken  with  caution  and  performed 
with  solicitude.  Among  the  candidates  for  his  vote  he  is  often 
at  a  loss  which  to  prefer.  The  very  sincerity  of  bis  intentions 
to  do  right  is  the  occasion  of  much  anxious  thought.  One  can- 
didate he  may  like  in  some  respects,  another  candidate  he  may 
like  in  others,  and  possibly  there  may  be  more  whom  he  likes 
altogether.  If  he  is  a  christian  and  a  true  disciple  of  the 
Saviour  the  last  is  too  likely  to  be  the  case.  As  such  he  would 
wish  that  the  man  selected  as  his  representative  should  be  also 
under  the  influence  and  guidance  of  christian  principle  and 
motive — one  who  will  always  bear  in  mind  that  he  has  to  make 
laws  for  immortal  beings  and  that  while  righteousness  exalteth 
a  nation  and   sin  is  the  reproach  of  any  people,  he  should 


PRINCIPLE    AND    MOTIVE    IN   VOTING.  505 

endeavour  by  his  example  and  influence  to  promote  pure  and 
undefiled  religion  and  to  bring  the  wickedness  of  the  wicked  to 
a  perpetual  end. 

How  serious — ^how  difficult — ^how  all-important,  then,  is  the 
right  exercise  of  the  privilege  of  voting.  The  offices  of  the 
State  must  be  filled  and  filled  with  such  as  are  willing  to  occupy 
them.  To  every  citizen  is  entrusted  the  duty  of  inviting  and 
selecting  those  who  are  capable  of  promoting  the  common  wel- 
fare. This,  brethren,  is  your  privilege  and  right  as  an  Ameri- 
can citizen ;  but,  as  every  right  involves  a  duty,  so  is  the  obliga- 
tion of  properly  using  this  right  proportionate  to  the  magnitude 
of  the  interests  at  stake. 

Startle  not,  then,  when  I  solemnly  aver  that  civil  govern^ 
ment  is  an  ordinance  of  God'  and  is  to  be  supported  by  a  con- 
scientious discharge  of  all  the  duties  it  involves.  You  will, 
therefore,  be  called  to  give  an  account  before  the  judgment  seat 
of  Christ  for  the  manner  in  which  you  have  fulfilled  your  obli- 
gations as  a  citizen  of  this  repuhlic.  "God  ^hall  bring  ever)- 
work  into  judgment  with  every  secret  thing  whether  it  be  good 
or  whether  it  be  bad."  And  "every  idle  word  that  men  shall 
speak  they  shall  give  account  thereof  in  the  day  of  judgment." 
Surely,  then,  you  will  have  to  accoimt  for  the  manner  of  ful- 
filling the  duty  in  question.  The  pains  you  take  to  form  a  right 
decision  and  the  motives  by  which  that  decision  is  influenced 
are  elements  which  will  enter  into  the  judgment  pronounced 
upon  vour  conduct  as  a  member  of  society.  God  the  Judge  will 
take  cognizance  of  the  duties  required  by  the  second  as  well  as 
by  the  first  table  of  the  laws — the  duties  you  owe  to  your 
fellow-men  as  well  as  to  Himself.  Indeed,  what  we  owe  as 
duty  to  our  fellow-men  we  owe  to  God  Himself,  and  are 
responsible  to  Him  for  its  neglect.  Now,  although  no  par- 
ticular form  nor  the  designation  of  the  persons  governing  be 
immediately  from  God  or  of  His  appointment,  yet  the  institu- 
tion itself  is  the  dictate  of  His  will  and  the  constitution  of  His 
providence  as  made  known  by  the  invariable  dictates  of  our 
own  nature  and  the  positive  enactments  of  His  own  divine  law. 
And,  hence,  it  is  that  we  are  accountable  to  God  for  the  faith- 
ful discharge  of  our  duty  to  society. 


506  PRINCIPLE   AND    MOTIVE    IN    VOTING. 

If,  then,  my  hearers,  the  duty  of  voting  at  elections  is  a  seri- 
ous and  an  important  one ;  one  that  is  difficult  and  for  the  wise 
discharge  of  which  you  must  give  account  to  God  how  should  it 
be  fulfilled? 

In  the  first  place,  I  reply,  the  nature  and  importance  of  this 
right  and  duty  must  be  realized. 

One  of  the  most  discouraging  signs  of  the  times,  says  the 
New  York  Times,  is  the  indifference  with  which  the  elective 
franchise  is  viewed  by  the  more  favored  and  intelligent  portion 
of  our  population.  They  do  not  seem  to  have  a  just  apprecia- 
tion of  their  invaluable  inheritance;  but,  like  the  "profane  per- 
son" spoken  of  in  Scripture,  appear  to  despise  their  "birth- 
right."' This  remark  is  intended,  of  course,  to  be  understood 
im  a  general  sense,  for  there  are  numerous  honorable  exceptions. 
But,  though  these  delinquents  may  disregard  the  privilege,  can 
they,  without  guilt,  rid  themselves  of  the  duty  of  an  American 
citizen?  We  think  not.  If  they  were  themselves  to  be  the 
only  sufferers  by  their  neglect,  there  might  be  some  excuse  for 
them.  But  in  our  political  system,  the  neglect  of  a  few  may, 
by  the  exaltation  of  incompetent  or  unprincipled  men  to  public 
stations,  cause  oppressive  legislation,  or  a  corrupt  administra- 
tion of  the  government,  which  brings  injury  to  the  many;  and 
thus  the  omission  of  a  duty  may  be  as  productive  of  mischiev- 
ous consequences,  as  the  commission  of  a  wrong  act.  We  are 
not,  therefore,  to  leave  "undone  those  things  which  we  ought  to 
do,"  any  more  than  to  do  "those  things  which"  ought  not  to 
be  done. 

In  a  certain  district  in  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  nearly  or  quite 
two^hirds  of  the  votes  taken  at  the  late  election,  were  given  by 
persons  of  foreign  birth,  most  of  them  having  no  property  stake 
in  the  community,  and  not  knowing  or  caring  probably  a  fig, 
about  the  persons  they  voted  for,  and  yet  as  tenacious  of  their 
right,  and  as  eager  to  exercise  it,  as  if  each  had  thousands 
depending  upon  the  result,  Ini  this  same  district,  there  were 
hundreds  of  American  voters  who  did  not  come  to  the  polls  at 
all,  although  (for  the  most  part)  owners  of  real  estaite,  and 
although,  besides  the  judicial  officers,  delegates  to  revise  the 
charter  of  the  city  were  to  be  chosen — a  most  important  duty — 


PRINCIPLE   AND    MOTIVE    IN    VOTING.  507 

in  which  it  might  be  reasonably  supposed  they  would  take  great 
interest. 

And  yet  these  very  stay-a-zvays — these  "no-meddlers  with 
politics  and  elections" — are  the  loudest  and  most  industrious 
grumblers  when  any  thing  goes  wrong,  and  utter  all  sorts  of 
imprecations  against  radical  demagogues,  official  corruption, 
and  political  knavery. 

The  sober  truth  is,  if  these  men,  and  such  as  these  are  every 
where  in  our  land: — if  all  classes  and  parties  of  American  citi- 
zens— would  didy  consider  their  duty  in  the  premises,  and  unite 
in  its  performance,  there  might  even  yet  be  a  comparative 
political  Millenium;  we  might  be  brought  back  again  to  the 
golden  age  of  the  Republic. 

But  another  essential  step  to  be  taken,  and  I  may  add,  the 
first  step,  is  to  pray  to  Almighty  God  to  give  you  both  the  dis- 
position and  the  power  to  act  according  to  His  will.  Do  you, 
my  hearer,  smile  at  this?  Does  it  appear  to  you  strange  or 
preposterous  to  recommend  a  man  to  pray  concerning  his  vote 
at  an  election  ?  Then  you  have  a  most  imperfect  and  unworthy 
view  of  religion.  The  man  who  excludes  any  sphere  of  action 
and  of  duty  from  the  influence  of  religion  and  limits  religion^  to 
a  particular  field  of  human  agency  denies  and  destroys  religion. 
Religion  is  with  him  only  a  form, — a  pageant, — a  Sabbath 
dress, — a  sanctimonious  mask  worn  over  the  natural  and  real 
character.  It  is  not  his  life, — his  light, — his  guide — the  prin- 
ciple of  all  his  actions,  and  the  soul  of  all  his  duties. 

You,  however,  my  hearers,  are  not  so  depraved  as  to  jibe  at 
the  thought  of  praying  for  guidance  in  discharging  your  duty 
as  a  voter.  You  receive  in  their  whole  truth  those  Scriptures 
which  say  to  every  man  "in  all  thy  ways  acknowledge  God  and 
He  shall  direct  thy  paths."  "In  every  thing  prayer  and  suppli- 
cation, with  thanksgiving,  let  your  requests  be  made  known 
unto  God ;  and  the  peace  of  God,  which  passeth  all  understand- 
ing, shall  keep  your  hearts  and  minds,  through  Christ  Jesus." 

But,  in  the  third  place,  having  thus  sought  wisdom  from 
above,  then  seriously  and  deliberately  exercise  your  own  judg- 
ment. Give  to  the  subject  that  consideration  which  its  unde- 
niable  importance  demands.     Ask  yourself   "which  of   these 


508  PRINCIPLE    AND    MOTIVE   IN   VOTING. 

candidates  for  my  vote  have  I  solid  reason  to  believe  is  most 
likely  to  promote  the  real  interests  of  the  communaty  by  a 
faithful  discharge  of  all  the  duties  to  be  imposed'  upon  ihim  and 
by  a  life,  conduct  and  conversation  pure  and  exemplary.  This 
question  determines  your  duty  as  a  conscientious  christian  man, 
and  this  question  you  cannot  evade  as  a  true  servant  of  God, 
as  an  honest  member  of  the  community,  and  as  an  independent, 
intelligent  and  patriotic  citizen..  If,  indeed,  you  are  regardless 
of  duty,  if  you  seek  not  that  which  is  right  and  proper,  but  that 
which  may  gratify  or  profit  yourself  or  your  family,  if  you  are 
prepared  to  set  aside  principle  and  rectitude  and  substitute 
prejudice  or  mere  party-spirit — you  will  vote  accordingly ;  but 
if  you  have  within  your  breast  the  upright  heart  of  a  man  of 
God,  the  question  which  you  will  endeavour  to  determine  will 
be  exactly  that  which  has  been  stated. 

But,  further,  whilst  you  determine  for  yourself,  suffer  others 
to  enjoy  the  same  privilege.  *'Who  art  thou  that  judgest 
another  man's  servant? — ^to  his  own  master  he  standeth  or 
falleth."  You  cannot  look  into  his  heart  ami  even  if  you  could 
you  would  be  much  better  employed  in  carefully  searching  and 
examining  your  own.  That  you  will  find  work  enough  even 
for  a  long  life.  And  yet  how  little  are  men  engaged  in  such 
close  self-inspection.  They  work  the  weeds  in  another  man's 
field  and  their  own  meanwhile  becomes  covered  with  thorns. 
They  judge  others  but  themselves  they  do  not  judge.  Hence, 
the  violence  at  elections, — hence  the  bitter  party  spirit — whence 
the  delicacy  and  the  difficulty  of  the  task  of  giving  men  faith- 
ful, godly  counsel  even  as  a  peaceful  minister  of  the  gospel 
without  enkindling  in  their  hearts  the  fiercest  of  their  hateful 
passions.  My  brethren,  do  not  ye  thus  err.  "Judge  not  awl 
ye  shall  not  be  judged." 

Were  every  man  to  vote  according  to  the  convictions  of  his 
own  matured  judgment  and  leave  others  to  exercise  the  same 
right  of  private  judgment  (and  is  not  this  as  cardinal  a  princi- 
ple in  republican  politics  as  it  is  in  theology?)  our  elections 
would'  be  at  once  free  from  that  plague  spot  on  our  body  politic, 
the  system  of  bribery. 

The  ballot  box  is  the  basis  of  that  pyramid  to  which  our  sys- 
tem may  be  likened — 'the  great  spring  that  sets  the  wheels  of 


PRINCIPLE   AND    MOTIVE    IN    VOTING.  509 

govemiment  in  motion ;  the  first  mover  in  the  poHtical  sphere. 
If  this,  therefore,  be  not  rightly  adjusted  and  regulated  what 
can  we  expect  but  that  all  the  movements  of  the  system  will  be 
eccentric,  irregular  and  discordant? 


On  the  Necessity  of  Literature  and 

Men  of  Letters  to  the  Stability 

and  Happiness  of  a  Republic 


Prepared    for    the    Course    of     Public    Lectures 
Delivered  Before  the  Literary  and  Philo- 
sophical Society  of  Charleston  in 
June  and  July,  A.  D.  1840. 


BY  THE 

Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 

Pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church, 

Charleston,  S.  C. 


Read  in  March.  1840. 


THE  NECESSITY  OF   LITERATURE   AND 

MEN  OF  LETTERS  TO  THE  STABILITY 

AND  HAPPINESS  OF  A  REPUBLIC. 


Gentlemen:  The  subject  to  which  your  attention  is  this 
evening  to  be  directed,  is  the  necessity  of  Literature  and  by 
consequence  of  men  of  letters,  to  the  stabihty  and  happiness 
of  a  Repubhc. 

When!  we  are  called  upon  to  separate  from  the  society  of  one 
in  whose  companionship  we  have  found  delight,  and  with 
whom  we  have  taken  sweet  counsel,  it  is  our  happy  privilege  to 
bring  him  again  to  remembrance — to  retrace  all  his  virtues — 
and  thus  confirm  and  to  reniew  our  attachmenit  and  regard. 
x-\nd  thus  after  you  have  been  in  the  sweet  society  of  literature, 
partaking  of  her  choicest  fruits  served  up  to  your  var}'ing 
humours  in  all  the  variety  of  taste,  and  luxuriating  in  the 
happy  influence  of  those  "thoughts  that  breathe  and  words  that 
bum,"  it  may  not  be  disagreeable  ere  you  take  a  present  fare- 
well, to  examine  the  claims  which  she  possesses  to  all  the 
admira.tion  you  may  have  bestowed  upon  her. 

The  discussion  of  this  subject  I  am  wiUing  to  attempt  because 
it  is  a  pleasing  one — because  it  is  always  grateful  to  be  per- 
mitted to  express  the  thanks  we  feel  for  any  communicated 
benefit — and  because  the  very  nature  of  the  service  will  secure 
for  me  that  acceptance  which,  personally,  I  dare  not  expect. 

xA.nd  I  may  be  permitted  to  say  that  I  am  not  the  less  willing 
to  discharge  this  duty  to  my  respected  fellow  members  of  this 
society  inasmuch  as  it  afifords  me  an  opportunity  of  exempli- 
fying, at  least  in  spirit  and  desire,  the  friendly  alliance  which 
exists  between  religion  and  whatever  is  praiseworthy  or  of  good 
report  among  men^ — the  identity  of  her  aim  and  whatever 
would  enable  and  enlarge  the  human  mind' — and  the  appro- 
bation with  which  she  cheers  forward  whatever  will  really 
advance  the  happiness  and  well-'being  of  society.  Apart  from 
the  motive  of  doing  the  will  of  God  and  securing  the  eternal 
interests  of  our  fellow-men  the  highest  incentive  to  ministerial 
effort  may  well  be  found  in  the  belief  that  true  religion  is  linked 

33— Vol.  X. 


514  THE    NECESSITY    OF    LITERATURE. 

in  with  the  best  interests  of  society — that  it  lies  at  the  founda- 
tion of  all  civil  and  social  happiness — that  it  fosters  genius, 
elicits  intellect  and  awakens  the  dormant  energies  of  the  slum- 
bering mind — that  it  is  the  mother  of  arts  and  sciences,  the 
patron  of  learning  and  the  friend  of  all  literary  studies — and 
that  thus  the  labours  of  its  ministry  is  a  sacrifice  upon  the  altar 
of  the  common  good  of  our. common  country,  a  service  of  patri- 
otism by  which  they  too,  as  well  as  those  who  mingle  more 
prominently  in  her  public  affairs  may  show  forth  their  love 
and  devotionj  to  a  land  in  which  they  glory. 

What  is  literature?  What  are  its  advantages  and  claims? 
and  why  is  it  essential  to  the  happiness  and  stability  of  a  repub- 
lic ?     To  these  questions  let  us  seek  a  reply. 

Literature  or  letters  embraces  all  that  knowledge  which  is 
obtained  through  the  medium  of  books  in  contradistinction  to 
learning  w^hich  is  com^ned  to  knowledge  as  it  is  communicated 
by  instruction.  The  terms  "men  of  letters"  and  republic  of 
letters  include,  therefore,  all  who  are  devoted  to  the  cultivation 
of  their  minds  whatever  department  of  knowledge  they  pursue. 
And  when  these  or  any  part  of  these  are  associated  together  in 
any  distinct  literary  society,  as  in  the  present  instance,  it  is  their 
design  to  diffuse  general  information  through  the  community 
and  to  cultivate,  eiilighten  and  gratify  it  through  the  instru- 
menitality  of  their  combined  influence  and  power.  The  field  of 
literature  we  may,  therefore,  say  is  the  world  of  knowledge. 
Its  har\'ests  are  plentiful.  Its  reapers  may  be  indefinitely  mul- 
tiplied and  still  find  abundant  occupation.  Every  taste  may  be 
met — every  lingering  and  thirsting  after  intellectual  ailment 
may  be  gratified,  while  all  may  contribute  to  the  extension  of 
her  territory  and  the  increase  of  her  fruits.  "Under  this  name." 
says  Schlegel,  "I  comprehend  all  those  arts  and  sciences  and 
all  those  mental  exertions  which  have  human  life  and  man  him- 
self for  their  object,  but  which,  manifesting  themselves  in  no 
external  effect  energize  only  in  thought  and  speech  and  without 
requiring  any  corporeal  matter  on  which  to  operate  and  display 
intellect  as  embodied  in  written  language."*  Literature,  there- 
fore, will  include  science  in  all  her  comprehensive  survey  of 
the  wide  extent  of  nature — history  by  which  the  past  may 

^Lectures  on  Lit.,  vol.  1,  p.  10. 


THE    NECESSITY    OF    LITERATURE.  515 

become  present  and  pour  out  her  treasures  for  the  benefit  of 
the  future — eloquence  and  wit  with  all  their  spirit-stirring 
themes — and  sacred  poetry  which 

Midst  this  worldly  strife 
Refines  the  fountain  springs, 
The  nobler  passion  of  the  soul ; 

whatever,  in  short,  regards  man  in  the  entireness  of  his  being 
and  looks  benignantly  upon  his  comfort  or  his  refinement. 
Accordingly,  the  objects  to  which  this  society  directs  the  atten^ 
tion  of  its  members  have  been  distributed  into  the  following 
clas:ses:  1.  Mathematics  and  mechanical  philosophy;  2.  Chem- 
istry, including  Electricity,  Galvanism  and  Mineralogy ;  3. 
Zoology  and  Botany ;  4.  Anatomy,  Surgery,  Physiology  and 
Medicine ;  5.  Agriculture  and  Rural  Economy ;  6.  Commerce, 
Manufacture  and  Internal  Navigation;  7.  History,  Geography, 
Topography  and  Antiquities ;  8.  Belles  Letters,  the  Languages, 
Ancient  and  Modem,  and  Education,  public  and  private;  9. 
The  Fine  Arts.* 

Having  thus  answered  the  inquiry  what  is  Literature,  let  us 
further  ask  what  then  are  the  claims  which  Literature  pre- 
sents to  our  attention  and  regard  ? 

Man,  let  it  be  remembered,  is  not  a  simple  but  a  compound 
being.  Like  other  animals  he  is  possessed  of  a  physical  organs 
ization.  This,  however,  is  but  the  temple  in  which  resides  the 
intellectual  and  moral  nature.  Man.  therefore,  may  be 
regarded  in  two  aspects^ — as  aUied  to  earth — ^and  as  destined  to 
immortality.  He  is  interested  in  both  worlds,  and  his  happi- 
ness is  linked  in  with  both.  Man  perfected  is  man  having  all 
that  is  requisite  to  the  full  development  of  his  physical,  intel- 
lectual and  moral  nature.  And  man  completely  happy  is  a  man 
in  the  full  and  destined  exercise  of  all  these  powers.  When 
the  physical  energies  are  alone  employed  man  merges  into-  a 
mere  animal.  When  the  intellectual  are  exclusively  exercised 
he  becomes  shrivelled  and  impoverished  in  his  bodily  frame. 
And  when  his  moral  feelings  are  made  ends  instead  of  means 
toward  a  higher  end, — even  the  happiness  and  ultimate  perfec- 
tion of  his  being, — man  becomes  alienated  from  man  and  sinks 
into  a  gloomy  and  morbid  misanthropy.     When^  mere  sensual 

*See   Elliott's  Address  before  the   Society. 


516  THE    NECESSITY    OF    LITERATURE. 

gratification  is  his  rule  of  action  man  lives  the  brute — when 
mere  intellectual  pursuits  are  followed  'he  is  so  far  forth  a 
spirit  and  unfitted  for  his  present  sphere  of  action^ — and  when 
spiritual  things  are  exclusively  sought  to  the  abandonment  or 
neglect  of  other  obligations  he  becomes  an  ascetic  dwelling 
apart  from  all  human  sympathies  in  the  gloom  of  his  own 
selfish  heart.  Man,  therefore,  to  be  happy,  to  be  useful,  to  be 
exalted,  to  be  what  in  this  present  world  he  is  designed  to  be, 
ought  to  cultivate  in  an  equal  and  proportionate  degree  his 
physical,  intellectual  and  moral  nature.  In  order  to  act  aright 
he  ought  to  think  aright,  and  in  order  to  think  aright  he  aught 
to  feel  aright.  He  is  under  the  government  of  physical,  intel- 
lectual and  moral  laws,  and  his  'happiness  lies  in  obedience  to 
them  all,  his  misery  is  proportioned  to  his  infraction  of  any. 

Now,  what  man  is  individually,  he  is  socially  and  in  commu- 
nities. He  is,  as  a  niember  of  society  no  less  than,  as  an  iso- 
lated individual  physical  and  having  physical  interests ;  intel- 
lectual and  having  intellectual  interests ;  and  moral  having 
moral  interests.  In  considering  man,  therefoire,  it  is  necessary 
to  consider  him  in  his  whole  nature,  in  his  entire  character. 
His  true  dignity  consists  in  the  just  exaltation  of  all  his  facul- 
ties and  his  true  enjoymemt  in  the  proper  gratification  of  all. 
And  that  either  or  both  may  be  secured  to  any  society  provision 
must  be  made  for  the  physical,  intellectual  and'  moral  capacities 
anrl  wants  of  all  its  members. 

Thus  equipped  for  his  earthly  voyage  man,  like  a  ship  of 
ocean,  is  subject  to  a  thousand  influences  which  shape  his 
course  and  contribute  to  its  prosperity  or  adversity.  Thus  he 
is  powerfully  affected  through  his  physical  nature  by  the  influ- 
ence of  climate — ^^through  his  social  nature  by  his  own  and  the 
disposition  of  those  around  him — through  his  moral  nature  by 
the  motives  which  are  addressed  to  it — and  through  his  intel- 
lectual nature  by  whatever  is  directed  to  the  under  standing. 
Everything  which  comes  in  contact  with  nuan  in  any  point  is 
instrumental  to  his  good  or  ill.  Thus  knowledge  is  power — 
truth  is  power — virtue  is  power — intellect  is  power — money  is 
power — and  pleasure,  too,  is  power.  How  much  is  the  charac- 
ter, habits  and  happiness  of  an  individual  dependent  on  his 
parents — his  family — ^his  companionship — and  even  his  locality 


THE     NECESSITY    OF     LITERATURE.  517 

as  it  is  giveiii  him  in  the  bosom  of  aiii  agricultural  or  commer- 
cial people.  Among  these  influences  by  whichi  man  is  moulded 
literature  is  emiment.  It  addresses  the  understanding,  the  pas- 
sions and  the  heart.  It  breathes  its  imspirationis  over  the  imagi- 
nation and  by  thus  swelling  the  sails,  controls  the  helm.  It  is 
the  companiom  of  man  when  alone^ — when  there  is  no  one  to 
contradict — when  he  is  willing  to  be  delighted) — when  he  is  free 
from  prejudice  and  suspicioiii — and  when  he  is  consequently 
most  susceptible  of  impression.  Like  Briareus  it  may  he  said 
to  have  a  hundred  hands  with  which  it  helps  every  one  accord- 
ing to  his  taste.  Descending  like  the  dew  in  silence  and  with- 
out observation  it  gently  instils  its  influenice  intoi  the  heart. 

Literature,  as  we  have  explained  it,  is  necessary  to  man  even 
wihen  considered  in  his  physical  nature.  It  teaches  him  how  to 
select  what  is  beneficial  and  to  avoid  what  is  injurious.  It 
arms  him  against  many  dangers  and  discovers  many  sources  of 
distemper  and  death.  It  caters  for  his  enjoyment — affords  him 
occupation — adoirns  his  hahitation  and  sends  him  forth  to 
nature  with  eyes  tO'  see  her  beauties,  ears  to  'hear  her  melodies 
and  taste  to  luxuriate  in  her  proft'ered  bounties.  As  it  was 
well  said  by  Mr.  Elliott  in  addressing  you,  "In  the  wide  range 
of  literature  and  science  there  is  no  human  civilized  being, 
whatever  may  be  his  condition,  his  profession,  his  associations, 
his  pursuits,  who  has  not  some  interest  in  literature.  Science 
would  give  new  skill  and  value  to  the  labours  of  the  mechanic, 
new  resources  to  the  enterprise  of  the  man  of  business,  new 
dignity  to  the  leisure  of  the  man  of  wealth,  new  enjoyments  to 
the  man  of  pleasure,  new  powers  to  the  man  of  exertion." 
"Some  branches  of  knowledge,  from  the  sublimity  of  their 
views,  from  the  certainty  of  their  results,  or  from  their  exten- 
sive application  tO'  all  the  occupations  of  life  may  have  higher 
claims  to  our  notice,  but  those  which  only  serve  to  polish  or 
decorate,  merit  also  attention.  We  should  no  more  wish  to 
deface  the  Corinthian  Capital  of  Science  than  to  sap  its  deep 
foundation."-''  The  connexion  subsisting  between  the  most 
abstract  and  refined  speculationis  of  intellect  and  the  partial 
realities  of  life  is  most  intimate." 

*Essay,  pp.  16  and  17. 


518  THE    NECESSITY    OF    LITERATURE. 

Thus  did  Newton  in  his  study  demonstrate  the  oblate  spher- 
oidal figure  of  our  globe  and  the  laws  and  figures  of  the  worlds 
above  us.  "Almost  all  the  great  combinations  of  modem 
mechanism  and  many  of  its  refinements  and  nicer  improve- 
meiirtis,  are,  says  Herschel,  creations  of  pure  intellect,  ground- 
ing its  exertion  upon  a  vei^y  moderate  number  of  elementary 
propositions  in  theoretical  mechanics  and  geometry."  The  dis- 
covery of  the  principle  of  the  achromatic  telescope  is  a  "memor- 
able case  in  science  where  a  speculator  geometer  in  his  cham- 
ber, apart  from  the  world  and  existing  among  abstractions  has 
originated  views  of  the  noblest  practical  application."* 

Literature  is  the  very  element  of  man's  intellectual  nature, 
and  when-  true  to  itself  it  addresses  his  moral  faculties  and 
builds  only  upon  their  foundation.  By  it  evil  passions  should 
be  restrained  and  virtuous  emotions  cheris'hed.  It  should 
frown  upon  selfishness,  and  elevate  the  standard  of  character. 
It  should  lead  man  away  from  the  seductions  of  mere  sensual 
or  animal  delights  to  her  more  exalted  pursuits.  By  habituat- 
ing him  to  the  contemplation  of  other  objects  than  himself  it 
would  open  his  mind  to  the  solicitations  of  kindness.  By  with- 
drawing 'him  from'  scenes  of  angry  contention  it  would  cultivate 
a  mild  and  generous  spirit.  By  placing  sensible  things  in  their 
just  proportions  it  would  enable  him  to  feel  affected  towards 
them  with  equanimity  of  mind,  equally  prepared  to  enjoy  or  to 
lose  them.  It  takes  away,  says  Bacon,  the  barbarism  of  men's 
minds,  levity,  temerity  and  insolvency,  and  vain  admiration.  It 
takes  away  or  mitigates  vain  fear  while  it  disposes  the  mind 
not  to  be  fixed  or  settled  in  its  defects,  but  to  be  susceptible  of 
growth  and  reformation.j  It  would  give  value  and  dignity  to 
life,  and  thus  makes  man  solicitous  to  preserve  it.  In  this  way 
it  would  check  cruelty  and  whatever  would  encourage  a  spirit 
of  revenge,  hostility  and  muixier,  while  it  would  cover  with  its 
greenest  verdure  and  crown  with  its  freshest  garlands,  the 
virtues  of  domestic  life.  When  the  soul  would  sink  under  the 
contemplation  of  prevailing  vices  and  the  gloomy  anticipations 
of  future  ills,  in  these  moments  of  desolate  disquietude  she  can 

*Quoted  Chalmers'  Works,  vol.  2,  p.  176:  And  thus  did  the  penetrating 
■view  of  Christopher  Columbus  point  the  way  to  that  very  land  whose  soil 
we  now  tread  beneath  us. 

tSee  Wks.,  vol.  6,  p.  cxxx. 


THE    NECESSITY    OF    LITERATURE.  519 

have  recourse  to  books  and  they  hold  up  to  her  the  undisfigured 
monuments  of  those  refined  and  noble  sentiments  that  have 
exahed  every  age.  ''If,"  says  De  Staul,  "Hberty  be  dear  to  him, 
if  the  naine  of  Repubhc  associates  in  his  reflections  with  the 
images  of  all  the  virtues,  some  of  Plutarch's  lines,  a  letter  from 
Brutus  to  Cato — a  few  sentences  of  Cato  himself  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Addison — are  sufficient  to  raise  the  soul  anew  after 
it  'has  shrunk  and  sickeneid  at  the  aspect  of  contemporary 
events."*  And  when  crushed  under  misfortune  and  suffering 
under  the  pitiless  peltings  of  the  storm  we  may  alleviate  our 
sorrows  by  sympathizing  with  the  griefs  of  the  departed  dead, 
by  hearing  from  their  lips  the  words  of  consolation  andi  receiv- 
ing from  the  example  of  their  fortitude  confidence  in  our  own. 
And  what  are  the  pleasures  of  literature?  Although  on  this 
subject,  in  reference  especially  to  my  own  department  of  it,  I 
may  be  permitted  to  say  non  inexpeitus  loquor,  yet  what  tongue 
can  do  justice  tO'  the  theme  ?  What  those  enjoyments  which  are 
felt  amid  "the  quiet  and  still  air  of  delightful  studies!" 
According  to  the  beautiful  inscription  over  the  Egyptian  librar>^ 
of  Osymandyas,  "Books  are  the  treasury  of  remedies  for  the 
soul."  Do  we  require  guidance  and  direction?  Optimi  con- 
siliarii  mortui  books  will  speak  plain  when  counsellors  blanch. 
Do  we  standi  in  need  of  caution  and  restraint  ?  Here  free  from 
all  partiality  and  prejudice  we  may  receive  the  most  faithful 
admonitions.  There  is  an  inspiring  aid  in  these  silent  relics  of 
the  great  and  good — these  armouries  of  intellect — which  out  of 
weakness  make  strong  and  nerve  the  feeblest  understanding. 
Are  we  poor  in  earthly  riches  ? 

Books  are  ours — 
Within  whose  silent  chambers  treasure  lies. 
Reserved  from  age  to  age  ;  more  precious  far 
Than  that  accumulated  store  of  gold 
And  orient  gems,  which  for  a  day  of  need 
The  sultan  hides  within  ancestral  tombs. 

Are  we  rich?  Here  we  may  learn  the  virtues  of  moderation 
and  humility  and  be  prepared  with  Roscoe  when  all  other  riches 
fail  to  live  upon  those  intellectual  treasures  over  which  the 
wave  of  outward  trouble  rolls  harmless.  And  after  all  what 
treasures  are  comparable  to  those  which  have  been  collected 
together  by  the  commerce  of  mind  during  all  past  ages. 

♦On  Literat.,  vol.  1,  p.  48. 


530  THE    NECESSITY    OF    LITERATURE. 

With  the  love  of  study  (which  will  always  follow  the  capac- 
ity and  habit)  our  time  need  never  hang  heavily  and  why  should 
we  complain  of  solitude?  From  the  noisy  tumult  of  the  world 
we  can  take  refuge  in  books  and  retirement.  There  we  can 
select  our  companions  and  hold  communiiom  with  those  who 
in  every  department  of  knowledge  have  shone  forth  as  bright 
and  burning  lights.  "How  many  busy  tongues,"  says  Bishop 
Hall,  "c'base  away  good  hours  in  pleasant  ohat ;  and  complain 
of  the  haste  of  night?  What  ingenuous  mind  can  be  sooner 
weary  of  talking  with  learned  authors,  the  most  harmless  and 
sweetest  of  companions?  What  a  heaven  lives  a  scholar  in, 
that  at  once  in  one  close  roam,  can  daily  converse  with  all 
the  glorious  martyrs  and  fathers !  that  can.  single  out  at  pleas- 
ure either  sententious  Tertullian,  or  grave  Cyprian,  or  resolute 
Jerome,  or  flowing  Chrysostom,  or  divine  x\mbrose,  or  devout 
Bernard,  or  who  alone  is  all  these — ^and  talk  with  them 
and  hear  their  wise  and  holy  counsels,  verdicts,  resolutions."* 
"Now,"'  says  D'Agessan,  "when  the  mind  is  weary  of  other 
labours  it  begins  to  undertake  her  own ;  sometimes  it  medi- 
tates and  winds  up  for  future  use ;  sometimes  it  lays  forth  her 
conceits  into  present  discourse;  sometimes  for  itself  often  for 
others.  Thus  could  I  all  day  (as  singers  use)  make  myself 
music  with  changes  and  complain  sooner  of  the  day  for  short- 
ness than  of  the  business  for  toil."t 

But  it  is  when  measured  in  its  influence  upon  society  the  full 
power  and  value  of  literature  is  seen.  "Here,  it  appears,"  says 
Schlegel,  "as  the  epitome  of  all  the  intellectual  capabilities  and 
improvements  of  mankind."  Its  power  over  society  for  good 
or  evil  is,  indeed,  illimitable.  Without  a  literature  there  can  be 
nothing  worthy  of  the  name  of  a  civilized  community.  The 
destiny  of  nations  has  been  controuUed  by  it ;  and  the  existence, 
character  and  permanence  of  liberty  may  be  measured  by  the 
character  of  its  associated  literature.  Without  it  liberty  can- 
not exist  and  much  less  can  it  be  preserved.  On  the  other 
hand,  liberty  is  necessary  to  an  elevated  literature,  they  are 

*Bp.  Hall  Wks.,  vol.  7,  p.  204. 

tQuoted  by  Montague,  Bacon's  Wks.,  vol.  16,  p.  cccclvii :  "I  am  perfectly 
happy,"  says  Fox  in  declaration  during  his  retirement,  "in  the  country. 
I  have  resources  enough  to  employ  my  mind  and  the  great  resource  of 
literature  I  am  fonder  of  every  day." — See  Life  of  in  Nat'l  Gallery  of 
Ports.,  No.  5.  p.  109. 


THE     NECESSITY     OF     LITERATURE.  531 

correllatives.  Like  twin  sisters  they  are  born  together  and  can- 
not exist  apart.  Separated  they  both  become  sickly,  droop  and 
die.  The  corruption  of  Hterature  and  morals  are  evidence  of 
the  putrescent  state  of  liberty.  When  England  lay  prostrated 
under  the  effects  of  civil  warfare,  her  literary  character  was 
lost  and  when  she  again  rose  from  the  ashes  to  the  enjoy ment 
of  peace  her  literature  revived.  The  Egyptians  first  exhibited 
a  government  of  laws  and  a  community  civilized  and  elevated ; 
and  here  first  shone  the  light  of  science.*  Athens  became  the 
emporium  of  letters  when  Solon  gave  her  her  laws,  and  her 
generals  secured  her  victory  and  independence.  When  the 
destruction  of  Carthage  gave  independence  to  Rome  and  filled 
her  with  peace  and  plenty,  learning  and  the  arts  acknowledged 
her  as  their  patrons.  When  the  dark  ages  had  involved  the 
nations  in  the  night  of  barbarism  books  were  scarcely  to  be 
found  even  in  the  papal  library  at  Ronie.f  The  Athenians,  it 
is  said,  were  never  so  dissolute  as  in  the  age  of  Demetrius 
Phalereus  from  whom  the  corruption  of  literature  took  its  rise ; 
nor  the  Romans  as  w-hen  Seneca  and  Lucan'  depraved  the 
pubhc  taste  in  the  reigns  of  Caligula  and  Nero.  It  was  after 
the  victories  of  England  over  the  Scotch  and  Erench  had 
increased  'her  greatness  that  Chaucer  and  Gower  appeared. 

The  decline  and  fall  of  Greece  was  certainly  preceded  by  the 
decline  of  its  literature  when  for  eloquence  it  had  mere  decla- 
mation and  for  philosophy  sophistry.  Equally  true  is  this  in 
regard  to  Rome  for  the  destruction  of  the  histor}'  of  Livy  and 
the  poems  of  Virgil  was  one  of  Cahgula's  favorite  designs. 
And  after  their  fall  liberty  lay  entombed  with  literature  until 
both  were  resuscitated  under  Charlemagne.  The  reformation 
of  religion,  literature  and  civil  government  and  the  consequent 
introduction  of  purity,  knowledge  and  liberty  were  contempo- 
raneous and  they  were  coextensive. 

Literature  is  thus  influential  upon  liberty  and  kindred  to  it 
because  it  excites  to  great  actions — it  fills  the  mind  with  noble 
recollections,  pure  precepts  and  bright  examples — it  disinclines 
to  every  thing  mean,  vulgar  and  sensual.  The  literature  of 
Christianity,  imbued  with  its  spirit  teaches  man  to  soar  upward, 

*Denina  on  the  R'evol.  of  Literat.,  p,  9. 
tDenina  on  the  Revol.  of  Literat.,  p.  72. 


522  THE    NECESSITY    OF    LITERATURE. 

to  aspire  to  perfection,  to  cherish  the  full  spirit  of  universal 
charity,  to  forget  himself  in  the  good  of  others,  and  the  present 
in  the  glorious  recompense  of  the  future.  "Liberty,  virtue, 
glory,  knowledge,  those  kindred  and  closely  allied  ideas  which 
form  the  proud  retirmie  that  attend  on  the  natural  dignity  of 
man  canmot  possibly  be  insulated  into  a  separate  existence. 
The  completion;  of  each  of  them  results  from  the  reunion  of 
them  all."*  Literature  is  that  lyre  of  Orpheus  which,  to  use  the 
beautiful  illustration  of  Bacon,  maintains  peace  and  harmony 
among  the  various  members  of  society.  ''In  Orpheus'  theatre 
all  hearts  and  birds  assembled,  and  forgetting  their  several  appe- 
tites, some  of  prey,  some  of  game,  some  of  quarrel,  stood  all 
socially  together  listening  to  the  airs  and  accords  of  the  harp ; 
the  sound  whereof  no  sooner  ceased  or  was  drowned  by  some 
louder  noise  but  every  beast  returned  to  his  own  nature; 
wherein  is  aptly  described  the  nature  and  condition  of  men, 
who  are  full  of  savage  and  unreclaimed  desires  of  profit,  of 
lust,  of  revenge ;  which  as  long  as  they  give  ear  to  precepts,  to 
laws,  to  religion  sweetly  touched  with  eloquence  and  persua- 
sion of  books,  of  sermons,  of  harangues,  so  long  is  society  and 
peace  maintained;  but  if  these  instruments  be  silent,  or  sedition 
and  turmoil  make  them  not  audible  all  things  dissolve  into 
anarchy  and  confusion."f 

Literature  taken  in  this  wide  sense  may  be  regarded  as  the 
instructor  of  a  riature  by  which  she  is  guided  to  all  the  natural 
advantages  and  resources  of  her  situation.  It  is  the  handmaid 
of  every  profession' — the  comforter  of  every  order  of  society — 
and  the  source  of  those  nameless  ties  and  associations  by  which 
the  partners  in  a  community  are  linked  together  in  a  holy  fra- 
ternity and  bound  to  their  country  by  a  charm  which  no  dis- 
tance or  time  can  break. 

Let  it  also  be  remembered  that  the  character  of  a  nation 
depends  essentially  on  her  literary  man.  Greece  lives  in  the 
exalted  character  of  her  Homer,  her  Plato,  her  Socrates,  her 
Demosthenes,  Aschines,  Lysias  and  Isocrates.  What  were 
Rome  without  her  Cicero,  her  Livy,  her  Horace  or  her  Virgil? 
The  shades  of  these  mighty  dead  still  hover  over  the  ruins  of 

*De  St.,  vol.  1,  p.  30. 
tVol.  16,  p.  cxxxi. 


THE    NECESSITY    OF    LITERATURE.  523 

these  fallen  empires  and  mantle  them  with  a  solemn-  dignity  and 
awful  reverence.  Brittain  would  sooner  lose  all  title  to  the 
glorious  achievements  of  her  Nelson,  or  her  Marlborough  than 
to  the  universal  fame  of  her  Bacon,  Milton,  Locke  or  Newton. 
Louis  XIV  is  still  the  glory  of  France  because  he  fostered  those 
men  of  genius  through  whom  the  splendour  of  his  reign  is  still 
perpetuated.  "The  influence  which  the  works  and  genius  of 
Homer  have  of  themselves  produced  on  after  ages  (it  has  been 
said),  has  alone  been  far  more  durable  and  far  more  extensive 
than  the  combined  effects  of  all  the  institutions  of  the  Athe- 
nian, and  all  the  heroic  deeds  and  transcendent  victories  of  the 
Macedonjian."§ 

The  greatness  of  a  state  does  not  depend  upon  its  extent  of 
territory  for  this  may  weaken  and  enervate  it — nor  on  its  riches 
for  these  may  palsy  and  debauch  it,  but  upon  its  spirit,  its 
c'haracter  and  its  morals,  and  these  depend  vitally  on  its  liter- 
ary taste.  Its  literature  is  the  only  abiding  part  of  any  age 
or  nation.     This  is  that 

Monumentum  are  perennius 

Regalique  situ  pyramidum  altius 

Quod  non  imber  edax,  non  Aquilo  impoteus 

Possit  diruere,   aut  innumerabilis 

Annorum  series  et  fuga  temporum.* 

"Have  not  the  verses  of  Homer  continued  2,500  years  or 
more  without  the  loss  of  a  syllable  or  letter,  during  which  time 
infinite  palaces,  temples,  castles,  cities,  have  been  decayed  and 
destroyed  ?  It  is  not  possible  to  have  the  true  picture  or  statues 
of  Cyrus,  Alexander,  Cgesar;  no,  nor  of  the  kings  and  great 
personages  of  much  later  years ;  for  the  originals  cannot  last 
and  the  copies  cannot  but  lose  of  the  life  and  truth;  but  the 
images  of  men's  wits  and  knowledges  remain  in  book,  exempted 
from  the  wrong  of  time  and  capable  of  perpetual  renovation."^ 
When  Alexander  destroyed  Thebes  he  spared  nothing  but  the 
house  and  descendants  of  Pindar,  whose  odes  were  admired  in 
Greece.  Of  this  I  cannot  refuse  to  give  you  two  illustra- 
tions afforded  by  our  own  illustrious  literary  countryman.f 

§Schlegel,  vol.  1,  p.  18. 

See  beautiful   description   of   the   benefits   flowing   through    a   philosopher 
to  his  country  and  posterity. — Irving's  Wks.,  vol.  5,  pp.  228-9. 
*Hor.  Carm.,  B.  3,  vol.  30. 
JBacon  Wks..  vol.   16,  p.  cxxxii. 
tirving's  Wks.,  vol.  1,  pp.  225,  149. 


524  THE     NECESSITY    OF    LITERATURE. 

Such  is  an  imperfect  view  of  the  more  general  claim's  of 
literature  upon  individuals  and  societies  of  men.  And  they  all 
rest  with  an  increased  and  not  a  diminished  power  upon  us. 
For  there  are  in  addition,  to  all  these,  peculiar  obligations  mak- 
ing the  proper  cultivation  of  Hlerature  and  the  cultivation  of  a 
proper  literature  binding  upon  all  who  would  promote  the  hap- 
piness and  stability  of  this  republic.  The  streams  of  knowl- 
edge flow  in  unnumbered  channels  through  every  portion  of  our 
country  and  carry  with  them  the  salubrity  or  the  poison  of  their 
source.  For  knowledge  is  power,  whether  that  power  is 
wielded  by  virtue  or  vice,  by  patriotism  or  treason.  The  vnii- 
versal  distribution  of  the  privileges  of  learning  is  attended  with 
the  universal  diffusion  of  the  dangers  of  learning.  Our  litera- 
ture, therefore,  must  be  the  literature  of  the  people  and  not  of 
a  few  of  the  people.  It  must  be  a  literature  adapted  to  the 
interest  of  the  mass  and  not  of  a  select  portion  or  class.  If  it 
is  evil,  then  is  the  mass  corrupt — if  goo^l  then  will  the  mass  be 
purified  and  ennobled.  Our  prosperity  and  happiness  as  a 
nation  depends  upon  the  character  and  not  on  the  extension  of 
our  knowledge  and  literature.  We  are  a  reading  people.  The 
pipes  of  knowledge,  if  I  may  be  allowed  the  illustration,  are 
conveyed  into  every  family  and  if  they  carry  with  them  impure 
or  corrupt  materials  they  destroy,  not  a  few,  but  the  country 
itself.  The  fate  of  Thebes,  Tyre  and  Palmyra  tells  us  what 
must  be  the  instability  of  all  governments  where  the  people  are 
not  elevated  by  virtue.*  In  the  time  of  Pericles  Greece  was 
unhappy  because.  tJioiigh  cnliglitcncd,  she  was  not  virtuously 
instructed.  Rome  became  dissolute  and  weak  when  she 
received  from  Greece  her  manners  with  her  literature.  Vice 
was  universal  in  the  time  of  Julius  and  Augustus.  And  the 
diffusion  of  immorality  and  unbelief  preceded  the  overthrow 
of  the  Jewish  commonwealth.  How  imperative,  then,  is  the 
duty  of  cultivating  the  spirit  of  a  wholesome  literature  upon 
every  one  who  loves  his  country.  Let  her  not  learn  too  late 
that  all  true  glor}-  rest,  all  praise,  all  safety  and  all  happiness 
upon  the  moral  law.  Egyptian,  Thebes.  Tyre  by  the  margin 
of  the  sounding  waves.  Palmyra,  central  in  the  desert,  fell ; 
and  the  arts  died  by  which  they  had  been  raised. 

*See  Montesquien's  Judgment  on  Ryan  on  Religion,  pp.  19-20. 


THE    NECESSITY    OF    LITERATURE.  •):iiy 

Call  Archimedes  from  his  buried  tomb 
Upon  the  plain  of  vanished  Syracuse, 
And  feelingly  the  sage  will  make  report 
How  insecure,  how  baseless  in  itself 
Is  the  philosophy  whose  sway  depends 
On   mere   material   instruments — how   weak 
Those  arts  and  high  inventions,  if  unpropped 
By  virtue.     He,  with  sighs  of  pensive  grief, 
Amid  his  calm   abstractions,   would  admit 
That  not  the  slender  privilege   is  theirs 
To  save  themselves  from  blank  forgetfulness. 

Here  every  citizen  has  an  influence  on  the  government — that 
influence  will  depend  upon  their  character,  and  that  character 
will  be  materially  afifected  'by  their  literature.  Every  man  has 
imposed  on  him  the  task  of  resisting  political  usurpation,  but 
if  unenlightened  or  misguided  he  may  patronize  instead  of 
resisting  it.  A  republic  resting  upon  the  basis  of  general  intel- 
ligence and  virtue  in  her  citizens  demands  a  higher  and  more 
excellent  literature  than  a  despotism  or  monarchy.*  Without 
a  controulling  and  characterizing  religious  and  moral  influ- 
ence mere  education  will  give  to  a  nation  a  giant's  strength 
with  an  atheist's  hand  to  use  it.  This  will  be  a  counteractive 
to  vice  by  turning  the  attention  from  amusement  and  sensuality 
which  enervate  and  destroy  to  the  nobler  pursuits  of  mind,  by 
providing  food  for  the  hungry  and  occupation  for  the  hours  of 
idleness  and  recreation.  Our  growing  wealth  and  prosperity 
expose  us  to  the  evil  consequences  of  wide-spread  luxury.  If 
our  citizens  are  taught  to  luxuriate  in  polite  literature  and  in 
all  the  elegance  of  art,  and  to  become  patrons  of  science  and 
learning,  founders  of  colleges  and  seminaries, — ^then  may  there 
spring  from  this  verj^  magnificenit  intellectual  heroes.  Demos- 
thenes and  Plato,  Xenophon  and  Sophocles  flourished  in  the 
palmy  time  of  Greece;  and  Cicero,  Cassar,  Livy,  Virgil  and 
Horace  marked  the  era  of  Rome's  greatest  prosperity.  But  if 
this  luxury  terminates  on  sensual  indulgences  how  will  it 
undermine  the  pillars  of  liberty ! 

Another  evil  incident  to  our  popular  form  of  government  and 
to  the  extension  of  the  elective  franchise  is  the  violence  of 
party  spirit.     In  the  heat  of  a  contested  election — and  what 

*Wordsworth  Excursion,  vol.  4,  p.  286:  Education — It  is  the  knowledge, 
intellectual,  moral  and  religious,  that  constitutes  the  man.  Without  its 
powers  wealth  would  be  a  curse  instead  of  a  blessing.  Besides  the  stability 
and  prominence  of  our  republican  institutions  have  their  only  guarantee  in 
an  intelligent,  moral  and  religious  population. — Message  of  Gov.  Noble  in 
Nov.,  1839. 


526  THE    NECESSITY    OF    LITERATURE. 

election  will  not  be  contested  where  all  are  admitted  to  the 
strife? — the  community  and  oftentimes  the  whole  country 
heaves  under  the  fury  of  the  storm ;  the  stillness  of  domestic 
quiet  is  alarmed;  all  is  movement  and  commotion;  virtue  trem- 
bles as  she  blushingly  retires  from  the  scene ;  while  discord  sows 
the  seeds  of  future  and  untemiinating  feuds  and  warfare.  "The 
freest  government  is  the  one  which  is  exposed  to  the  greatest 
perils — if  it  does  not  work  well  it  must  work  worse  than 
others."  What  is  to  protect  us  from  Hcentiousness.  anarchy 
or  the  despotism  of  party ;  in  fact,  from  "liberty  without  law  or 
public  order?"  We  answer  unhesitatingly  that  all  other  checks 
will  prove  like  the  hands  of  Sampson  when  the  strong  man 
arises  in  his  might  unless  they  are  covered  by  the  protecting 
Aegis  of  Religion  and  Letters.  The  intellectual  character  of 
the  people  must  be  exalted  and  purified  until  what  is  the  theory 
of  our  government  shall  become  experience  and  the  capacity  to 
govern  is  coextensive  with  the  right— until  there  shall  be 
formed  within  the  republic  a  republic  of  letters  which  shall  give 
it  tone  and  impulse — which  shall  assuage  the  animosities  of 
political  contention  and  bind  together  differing  minds  in  bonds 
stronger  than  tbe  ligaments  of  a  temporary  partizanship. 

Man,  we  have  seen,  is  possessed  of  an  intellectual  and  moral 
as  well  as  a  physical  nature.  Now,  w"hen  undue  preponder- 
ance and  attention  is  given  to  the  latter  the  former  are  dwarfed 
and  sink  into  comparative  insignificance.  Two  dangers  arising 
from  this  source  may  or  do  threaten  us.  One  is  the  preponder- 
ating influence  of  a  military  spirit  and  the  other  is  the  undue 
ix)wer  of  wealth.  Military  power  is  arrogant,  exclusive  and 
overbearing.  Its  practical  doctrine  is  that  might  makes  right 
and  that  the  prowess  of  the  arm  is  superior  to  strength  of 
understanding.  Moral  attributes  and  great  civil  abilities  are 
subordinated  to  the  glory  of  arms.  Ignorance  and  cunning  are 
alone  encouraged  and  in  the  tumult  of  some  agitating  question 
the  foundation  for  a  despotism  is  laid.  To  the  other  danger 
we  are,  however,  more  exposed.  Our  national  character  is 
already  distinguisihed  and  disfigured  by  its  money-loving  spirit. 
We  now  measure  a  man's  wealth  not  by  his  general  happiness 
and  prosperity,  but  by  his  riches,  and  we  estimate  his  worth 
not  by  his  character,  but  bis  purse.     The  only  way  left  to 


THE    NECESSITY    OF    LITERATURE.  537 

l>eoome  great  is  to  become — not  greatly  good  or  wise  or  virtu- 
ous, but  greatly  rich.  T'his  is  the  summumbonum  however,  after 
which  all  are  hasting  with  insatiate  desires.  The  value  of 
produce  has  become  the  value  of  every  thing  and  of  any 
proposition  which  can  be  made  it  is  necessary  first  to  show  how 
much  money  it  will  bring.  The  standard  of  utility  is  applied 
with  the  calculating  caution  of  the  merchant  to  every  pursuit, 
employment  and  profession  and  all  the  high  and  ennobling  sen- 
timents of  our  nature  are  graduated  by  the  scale  of  their  pro- 
ductiveness in  dollars  and  cents.  This  is  the  highway  to  bar- 
barism by  which  we  make  first  haste  in  a  returning  progress 
towards  that  condition  of  natural  society  where  "like  brutes 
men  live  like  brutes  they  die." 

Now,  literature,  I  mean  a  christian  literature,  is  the  balance- 
wheel  ini  society,  maintaining  our  equilibrium  between  man's 
physical  and  moral  nature — 'holding  up  to  view  his  higher 
destiny — making  provision  for  his  intellectual  appetites — and 
preserving  in  its  due  supremacy  his  mental  dignity.  Talenit 
and  virtue,  therefore,  should  be  distinguis'hed — for  w'bere  there 
is  perfect  political  equality  there  can  be  no  other  foundation  for 
the  support  of  authority,  influence  or  power.  What  else  can 
secure  the,  confidence,  the  submission,  the  revereiiice  of  the  peo- 
ple? What  else  can  enthrone  justice  and  law  upon  the  hearts 
of  men  who  are  the  repositories  of  all  power  and  guided  by 
their  own  free  will?  If  power  is  always  regarded  with  jeal- 
ousy and  borne  as  a  heavy  weight  how  can  it  be  recommended 
to  the  hearts  of  republicans  if  not  clothed  in  the  garments  of 
intelligence  and  moral  greatness  ?*  Queen  Elizabeth  once  said 
bo  Bacon  in  reference  to  weak  and  inefificient  magistrates, 
"Bacon,  how  can  the  magistrate  maintain  his  authority  when 
the  man  is  despised  ?"f 

When  aristocratic  distinctions  are  obliterated,  when  men 
cannot  hide  their  weakness  behind  the  pomp  of  rank  or  heredi- 
tary greatness,  when  every  man  stands  or  falls  by  himself  and 
is  measured  by  his  own  claims  to  respectability  there  is  no  other 
way  for  the  preservation  of  personal  dignity  and  due  respect 
than  by  eminence  in  intellectual  and  moral  attainments.  But 
these  qualities  men  will  and  must  respect.     These  attributes 

*See  De  St.,  vol.  2,  p.  112.  tWorks,  vol.  1,  p.  412. 


528  THE    NECESSITY    OF    LITERATURE. 

will  and  must  impart  to  their  possessor  proportionable  influ- 
ence whether  they  are  in  themselves  and  for  their  own  sakes 
valued  or  not.  Mind  alone  contains  within  itself  the  secret 
fountain  of  authority  and  power.  And  unless  men  could  be 
reduced  to  that  intellectual  equality  which  characterized  the 
worthy  citizens  of  Communipaw  the  destruction  of  all  existing 
distinctions  or  of  society  itself  today  would  be  followed  by 
other  elevations  and  consequent  depressions  on  the  morrow. 
As  the  wave  borne  aloft  by  the  winds  of  heaven  rises  above  the 
surrounding  waste  of  waters  so  will  the  mind  swelled  by  the 
heavenly  instincts  of  genius  and  talent  rise  superior  to  the 
ordinary  elements  of  society. 

A  jealousy  or  a  disregard  of  intellectual  and  literary  attain- 
ments, of  learning  and  the  learned  professions  were  a  most 
unnatural  spirit  to  be  indulged  in  the  bosom  of  this  young 
republic.  By  these  is  she  what  she  is.  By  these  alone  can  she 
become  what  she  is  yet,  we  trust,  destined  to  be.  By  these 
alone  can  her  true  glory  be  won — ^by  these  alone  perpetuated. 
T'he  love  of  country  and  the  love  of  its  honor  and  dignity 
"is  conistituted  by  recollections  an/d  these  are  laid'  up  in  the 
treasui-y  of  her  literature."  By  this,  too,  may  it  not  seldom 
be  in  the  power  of  even  one  man  to  save  his  country.  Cicero 
delivered  his  country  by  his  sagacity  and  his  eloquence.  Csesar 
perpetuated  the  glory  he  had  achieved  in  his  commentaries. 

Were  there  time  we  might  show  that  the  services  of  profes- 
sional and  literary  men  are  of  more  importance  to  a  state,  as 
Bacon  testifies,  than  are  those  of  statesmen,  or  'heroes — "the 
glory  of  a  great  man  is  the  patrimony  of  his  country."  Schol- 
ars are  the  guardians  of  those  stores  from  which  men  in  active 
courses  are  finished  and  literature  is  happier  in  its  influence  on 
the  heart  of  society  than  is  science  herself.  Let  it  not  be  said 
that  men  of  letters  are  the  drones  of  that  society  in  which  they 
live.  They  are  when  characterized  by  a  due  regard  to  religion 
and  morality  its  most  productive,  its  most  useful,  its  most  bene- 
ficial class.  Their  work  is  most  valuable,  though  their  wages 
ofttimes  are  but  iX)or.  To  them  are  we  indebted  for  the  inven- 
tions which  have  now  modelled  society ;  those  discoveries 
which  guide  the  hand  of  industry,  lighten  the  toils  and  multiply 
the  comforts  of  life.     What  were  the  gods  of  the  ancients  but 


THE    NECESSITY    OF    LITERATUTE.  520 

their  deified  benefactors  and  illustrious  men  ?  Who  reared  the 
very  foundations  of  all  society  by  establisbing  the  principles  of 
property  and  law?  Who  first  directed  the  keel  of  commerce 
and  the  plough  of  agriculture  and  the  tools  of  evei7  civic  art? 
Didi  not  the  Georgies  of  Virgil  revive  the  almost  extinguished 
spirit  of  husbandry  ?  Did  not  their  Sages  civilize  and  enlig'hten 
Egypt.  Phanicia,  Chaldea  and  India?  And  who  but  the  min- 
isters of  religion  brought  the  wilderness  of  Europe  into  culti- 
vation and  preserv^ed  from  utter  forgetfulness  the  long  forgot- 
ten axul  far  banished  spirits  of  the  illustrious  dead?  The 
science  and  taste  of  Greece  and  the  universal  dififusion  of  her 
knowledge  may  be  traced  to  the  genius  of  Homer.  If  Philip 
could  thank  the  gods  not  for  having  given  iiim  a  son,  but  for 
having  given  him  to  live  during  the  life  of  Alexander  ill  does 
it  become  modern  society  to  speak  lightly  of  the  services  ren- 
dered to  her  by  those  w'ho  spread  abroad  the  healthful  streams 
oi  universal  knowledge.  "Our  commonwealtii  possesses  no 
richer  treasure  than,  the  fair  fame  of  her  children.  In  the 
revolutions  of  empires,  the  present  institutions  of  our  land  may 
perish  and  new  ones,  perhaps,  more  perfect  may  arise;  but  the 
glory  of  our  national  existence  cannot  pass  away  so  long  as  the 
names  of  those,  wlio,  in  it,  enlarged  the  boundaries  of  knowl- 
edge, gave  tone  to  its  morals,  framed  its  laws  or  fought  its 
battles  are  remembered   with  gratitude."* 

.And  in  addressing  the  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society  of 
Charleston  why  may  I  not,  in  conclusion,  express  the  hope  that 
in  that  crown  of  glory  which  shall  v/reathe  the  brow  of  this 
young  but  distinguished  country  there  shall  be  found  some 
gems  which  here  emitted  their  first  rays  of  genius  and  showed 
inj  their  native  lustre  ?  Why  in  that  band  of  worthies  with  whose 
names  posterity  shall  become  familiar  may  not  some  be  traced 
to  the  Charleston  Society  ?  Let  me  call  to  your  remembrance 
and  hold  up  for  your  encouragement  the  honoured  name  of 
Roscoe.  Are  you  thrown  upon  your  ow-n  efiforts?  So  was 
Roscoe.  Are  you  engaged  in  the  distracting  pursuit  of  mercaur- 
tile  business?  So  was  Roscoe.  Are  you  occupied  with  the 
pressing  labours  of  the  legal  profession — so  was  Roscoe.  Are 
you  deprived  of  any  extraordinary  occasions  for  the  manifesta- 

*National  Portraits,  Life  of  George  Washington. 
34_VoI.  X. 


530  THE    NECESSITY    OF    LITERATURE. 

tion  of  character,  or  are  you  without  any  singular  endow m'einits 
of  mind  and  only  characterized  by  such  are  more  coinmon  to 
strong  and  elevated  spirits?  So  was  it  with  Roscoe.  For  it 
has  been  said  that  "to  the  legitimate  culture  and  exercise  of  the 
natural  emotions  and  best  impulses  of  the  soul  all  that  is  good 
and  beautiful  in  his  character  must  be  ascribed."''^ 

And  yet  in  opposition  to  vulgar  though  popular  prejudice; 
by  patient  and  industrious  perseverance,  Roscoe  succeedied  in 
"Writing  literature  and  business  and  general  philanthropy  with 
domestic  duty  without  detriment  to  either."  While  pursuing 
the  business  of  his  profession  he  was  busily  employed  in  his 
profound  literary  researches — ^^and  in  furthering  the  great  pub- 
lic movements  of  his  time.  And  at  the  very  period  when  fame 
was  bearing  his  name  through  many  lands,  he,  with  another 
gentleman,  was  engaged  in  draining  and  cultivating  an.  ejflten- 
sive  tract  of  peat-moss  in  the  neighborhood  of  Mandhester. 
With  these  studies  and  pursuits  he  united  that  of  botany,  his 
favorite  science,  and  was  instrumental  in  instituting  the  admir- 
able  Athenaeum  of  Liverpool  and  the  establishment  of  a  botani- 
ical  garden  near  that  city. 

Could  I  hope  that  the  attempt  I  have  now  made  to  illustrate 
the  inseparable  connexion  between  the  literature  and  the  pros- 
perity of  any  country  and  especially  of  a  republic — would 
encourage  you  to  prosecute  with  energy  and  devotion — such  a 
course  as  marked  the  career  of  Roscoe — and  thus  stamp  the 
value  of  your  life  upon  the  enduring  prosperity  and  improve- 
ment of  this  community — in  this  hope  I  should  feel  abundantly 
repaid  for  any  labour  I  have  spent  upon  it. 


*N.  A.  Rev,,  1835,  p.  106. 


The  Sphere,  Character  and  Destiny 
of  Woman 


A  DISCOURSE 

BY  THE 

Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 
Charleston,  S.  C. 


THE    SPHERE,    CHARACTER    AND    DES- 
TINY OF  WOMAN. 


Judges  v  :  7. 

A  Mother  in  Israel. 

My  Christian  Brethren  :  I  am  led  by  a  double  call  to 
direct  my  own  attentioo  and  yours  to  the  sphere,  character  and 
destiny  of  woman. 

One  oi  the  most  prominent  and  useful  branches  of  christian 
effort  and  philanthropy  to  which,  as  a  church,  we  are  called, 
that  is  to  say,  the  education  of  poor  and  pious  young  men  for 
the  ministry — ^has  been  for  many  years  entmsted  to  the  zeal, 
industry  and  self-denying  effort  of  the  ladies  of  the  congrega- 
tion. To  this  distinction  they  have  attained,  nor  yet  by  any 
formal  arrangement,  but  simply  from  the  fact  that  they  have 
undertaken  what  must  otherwise  have  been  left  unattempted, 
and  carried  forward  with  growing  efficiency  what  must  other- 
wise have  been  left  undone  or  very  feebly  accomplished. 

To  this  great  cause,  the  appointment  of  our  General  Assem- 
bly, in  unison  with  the  annual  appeal  for  help,  made  by  our 
Female  Education  Society,  in\ates  our  attention  on  this  occa- 
sion. 

The  recent  death  of  Mrs.  Simonton  during  my  brief  absence, 
— so  unexpected, — so  unforeseen — so  appalling  to  us  all — gives 
double  emphasis  to  the  call  which  is  made  upon  our  considera- 
tions When  the  most  imlooked-for  tidings  of  this  event 
reached  me  in  Columbia,  I  was  led  to-  exclaim  in  the  language 
of  our  text,  "A  mother  in  Israel."  But  while  Deborah  and  her 
company  celebrated  the  glory  of  a  victorious  leader,  I  was  led 
to  contemplate  a  mother  in  Israel  as  fallen,  fallen  in  the  very 
midst  of  her  toil  and  labour  for  the  fulfilment  of  her  destiny  in 
the  discharge  of  her  relative  material  christian  duties. 

My  object  now  is  not  to  eulogize  the  dead,  but  to  benefit  the 
living  and  improve  the  present  occasion.  And  this  I  do  because 
there  was  much  in  this  case  to  impress  our  hearts — because 
having  been  absent  I  could  not  sooner  express  my  feelings 
towards  one  so  universally  esteemed,  and  because  it  affords 
fitting  season  for  dwelling  upon  an  important  theme. 


536  SPHERE,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY  OF  WOMAN. 

J  will,  therefore,  endeavour  briefly  to  point  out  the  sphere, 
character  and  destiny  of  woman,  and  then  make  some  practical 
remarks  bearing  upon  the  occasion  and  the  character  and  death 
of  our  beloved  friend. 

As  to  the  sphere  of  woman  there  have  been  manifold  opin- 
ions; from  that  which  claims  for  her  pre-eminence  in  all  jx)inits, 
to  that  which  degrades  her  to  a  level  with  the  beasts  that  perish. 

On  this  subject,  however,  as  on  every  other,  Scripture  takes 
that  ground  which  commends  it  to  us  as  the  wisdom  of  God, 
and  which  all  experience  commendis  to  the  wisdoin  of  men. 
It  neither  flatters  nor  frowns  upon  woman.  It  neither  en.s.nares 
nor  enslaves  her.  It  pays  no  court  to  her  pride,  her  vanity, 
her  love  of  ease,  her  desire  for  power,  victory  or  pre-eminence; 
nor  does  it  give  any  countenance  to  the  false  glare  thrown 
around  the  tinsel  ornaments  of  mere  external  appearance  and 
fas'hionable  amusements. 

Woman,  in  the  eye  of  Scripture,  is  not  "a  pretty  plaything." 
— a  mere  source  of  pleasure  or  amusement.  She  is  presented 
to  us  as  the  creature  of  God,  endowed  by  Him  with  a  spiritual 
nature,  and  made  amenable  to  all  the  responsibilities  of  life, 
death,  judgment  and  eternity. 

Woman  is  a  component  part  of  humanity.  The  man  is  not 
complete  or  perfect  humanity  without  the  woman  nor  the 
woman  without  the  man.  Both  together  constitute  manhood, 
or  man  considered  as  the  hum^n  race — the  whole  species  of 
rational,  intelhgent  beings,  and  both  together  harmonize  to 
make  "sweet  music  of  humanity."  It  was,  therefore,  of  both 
God  said  "let  us  make  man  in  our  own  image,  after  our  like- 
ness. So  God  created  man  in  His  own  image,  in  the  image  of 
God  created  He  him,  male  and  female  created  He  them." 
Humanity,  therefore,  was  at  first  one,  and  subsequenitly  divided. 
The  two  sexes,  like  two  lenses,  reflected  the  character  of  God, 
and  combined  in  one  image  those  several  qualities  of  the  Crea- 
tor which  either  alone  would  have  represented  in  a  defective 
state. 

A  full  orbed  Deity, 
In  his  full  round  of  attributes  complete. 

Here,  in  the  twofold  sex  of  human  nature,  as  in  the  person  of 
the  Incarnate  One, — who  was  a  t}pe  of  perfect  and  undivided 


SPHERE,  CHARACTER  A\D  DESTIXV  OF  WOMAN.  537 

liumaiiity. — ^niercy  and  truth  met  together,  rigihteousuess  and 
peace  kissed  each  other.  Of  these  two  sexes  the  ideal  charac- 
ters wei-e  sublimity  and  beauty,  justice  and  mercy,  severity  and 
t^niderness,  authority  and  persuasion,  reason  and  affection,  pro- 
tection and  love ; — aiid  in  these  qualities  comibined  we  have  a 
full  resemblance  of  Him  in  w'hom  dwelleth  all  possible  excel- 
lency. Woman,  therefore,  was  made  "the  co-equal  represen- 
tative with  man,"  of  that  divine  image  whose  moral  beauty  and 
uprightness  was  reflected  by  the  joint  manifestation  of  both 
natures. 

This  division'  of  humanity  was  founded  upon  the  demand 
of  that  social  nature  which  God  had  planted  within  us,  and 
which  required  for  our  happiness,  and  the  welfare  of  the 
species,  a  division  of  duties,  cares,  pleasures  and  responsibili- 
ties, with  capacities  and  tastes  adapted  to  them.  Happiness 
■defvertds  on  society  and  reciprocated  sympathy.  All  the  anal- 
ogies of  earth  point  to  the  necessity  of  such  an  arrangement 
and  there  is  no  reason  to  think  it  is  wanting  in  other  worlds,  or 
among  angelic  beings.  Corporeal  form  is  of  the  earth,  earthly, 
but  its  variety  of  conformation  is  an  index  and  shadow  of  that 
spiritual  diversity  w^hioh  existed  previously  and  to  which  it 
was  adopted.  The  soul,  tberefore.  \A'as  not  created  for  the 
body,  but  the  body  for  the  soul  by  which  is  displayed  the  soul's 
translucence  through  her  crystal  cell.* 

The  distinctions  found  in  the  character  of  souls,  therefore, 
are  original,  necessary  and  indestructible,  and  must  exist 
throughout  eternity  in  accordance  with  the  diversified  ministra- 
tions to  which  they  may  be  called.  Thus  we  find  dift'erent 
orders  of  angelic  beings  and  different  purposes  which  they  are 
employed  to  fulfil  in  accordance  with  their  several  attributes.— 
cherubim  and  seraphim. — those  characterized  by  power  and 
these  by  love. 

Now,  as  man  was  created  "'but  a  little  lower  than  the  angels." 
and  held  converse  and  comipanionship  with  them,  he  would  look 
to  them,  and  not  to  lower  animals,  for  his  exemplars ;  and 
when,  therefore,  he  felt  the  need  of  a  spirit  like  unto  himself 

*Sir  Thomas  Brown  says  of  the  soul :  "It  was  before  the  elements  and 
owes  no  homage  to  the  sun." 

Thou — thou  art  not  a  child  of  time. 
But  daughter  of  the  eternal  prime. 


538  SPHERE,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY  OF  WOMAN. 

whose  contrasted  qualities  shiould  "provoke  love  and  in&pire 
interest,"  and  "free  the  hollow  heart  from  paining/' — he  most 
probably  drew  his  analogy  from  the  kindred  diversity  he  per- 
ceived in  angelic  natures  adapting  them  to  their  diversity  of 
occupation  and  office. 

Difference  of  sex,  therefore,  does  not  imply  difference  of 
rank,  or  dignity,  or  worth,  but  only  a  difference  of  order,  pur- 
pose and  office. 

In  some  respects,  on  the  contrary,  woman  is  equal  with,  man 
— equal  in  partaking  of  the  divine  nature; — in  reflecting  the 
divine  imiage; — in  bearing  sway  and  sovereignty  over  all  lower 
animals ; — in  standing  in  covenarut  relation  to  God,  and  in  being 
capable  of  obedience,  recompense  and  reward,  and  liable  tO'  all 
the  pains  and  penalties  of  disobedience.  In  short,  both  sexes 
are  human,  reasonable,  immortal,  and  co-eternal. 

In  other  respect,  however,  woman;  is  not  equal  to  man,  and 
fh'is  just  because  'her  sphere  of  duty  is  not  the  same  as  man's. 

For  contemplation  he,  and  valour  formed  ; 
For  softness  she,  and  sweet  attractive  grace. 

Society  in  all  its  forms  is  founded  upon  the  principle  of  co4n/- 
promise,  diversity  of  station,  and  consequent  diversity  of 
employment.     So  is  it  in  the  family. 

The  world  was  sad !  the  garden  was  a  wild, 
And  man  the  hermit  sigh'd — till  woman  smil'd. 

Man  was  first  made  and  constituted  the  head*  and  governor 
of  the  world.  And  then,  woman  was  created  of  and  "for  the 
man,*  that  sihe  might  be  a  helpmeet  for  him" — like  unto  him — 
adapted  to  his  wants  while  finding  in  him  the  supply  of  hers, 
and  capable,  with  him,  of  serving  and  glorifying  God.  "For 
the  man  was  not  made"  after  or  out  "of  the  woman,  but  the 
woman  of  the  man."  "The  rib  which  the  Lord  God  had^  taken 
from  man  made  He  a  woman  and  brought  her  to  the  mam" 
In  this  way  it  pleased  God  to  teach  the  dignity  and  nobleness 
of  woman ; — ^the  suibordination  of  the  woman  to  her  "head,"  to 
whom  she  is  subject  in  the  Lx)rd,  and  of  whom  she  is  "the 
glorj^ ;" — ^and  the  intimate  and  endearing  union  and  relation 
that  exists  between  the  woman  and  the  man  "whom  he  is  bound 
to  love  even  as  himself." 

*1  Cor.  11,  8,  9. 


SPHERE,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY  OF  WOMAN.  539 

As  there  must,  therefore,  in  every  family  and  in  ever>-  soci- 
ety, be  a  ruler,  to  whom  is  committed  its  c'harge,  and  the  respon- 
sibilities, cares,  and  duties  connected'  with  it — this  rule  is  given 
to  man  who  is  adaptedi,  by  strength,  vigor  and  mental  endow- 
ment, for  its  discharge.  To  woman  God  has  assigned  the 
not  less  honourable,  and  equally  necessary  sphere  of  domestic 
duty  and  given  her  a  mental  constitution  and  a  physical  frame 
adapted  to  it. 

As  humanity,  therefore,  is  divided  between  the  sexes  so  are 
its  duties  and  its  cares.  Man  rules  by  authority,  while  woman 
reigns  and  rules  over  man's  aifections,  by  influence,  which  as  it 
has  its  source  in  human  sympathy  and  desires,  is  boimdless  in 
its  operation. 

To  say,  then,  that  woman  is  "the  weaker  vessel"  is  not  to  say, 
that  she  is  inferior.  It  is  by  her  weakness  she  becomes  strong. 
Gentleness,  persuasion,  love, — these  are  "the  cords  of  a 
man"  which  can  bind  that  strenigth  of  will  which  would 
snap  in  sunder  the  chains  of  usurped  authority  and 
dictatorial  rule  though  they  were  adamant.  It  is  not  the 
torrent  whidh  fractilies  the  earth,  ibut  the  gentle  shower  and 
the  silent  dew,  and  sudh  is;  influence  compared  with  authority. 
Like  that  dew  the  influence  of  woman,  extends  over  our  whole 
lives  by  means  of  maternal  piety,  social  converse,  conjugal  affec- 
tion,' and  domestic  joys.  She  bears  in  her  bosom  future  gen- 
erations. To  her  tenderness  is  left  the  mai:ragement  of  early 
childhood',  and  in  her  is  treasured  the  destiny  of  the  world,  for 
as  is  the  mother  such  will  be  the  child,  such  the  citizen,  and 
such  the  future  husband,  father,  and  friend.  It  is  woman's  to 
modify  disposition,  implant  sentiment,  and  mould,  and  fashion 
character,  prejudice,  and  virtue.  Her  influence  exerted  upon 
the  heart,  directs  the  mind,  shapes  the  manners,  and  gives  tone 
and  character  to  the  political  and  moral  condition  of  a  people. 

To  woman  is  committed  the  greatest  of  all  sciences,  that  of 
morality  and  virtue!  Others  may  furnish  knowledge,  but  she 
forms  and  develops  the  soul.  Others  may  make  scholars, 
mechanics  or  soldiers,  but  she  alone  makes  men.  The  child 
presents  itself  to  the  mother  as  a  divine  creature  wihose  intel- 
lectual povv^ers  it  is  not  merely  necessary  to  cultivate,  but  whose 
soul  must  also   be  developed;  and   this   soul   the  mother   is 


540  SPHERE,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY  OF  WOMAN. 

acquainted  with.  She  knows  where  to  carry  the  Hght,  where 
to  address  her  lessons.  Others  will  provide  the  vessels  with 
sails  and  rigging;  she  alone  must  take  her  place  at  the  helm 
with  the  pilot,  furnishing  him  with  the  compass,  and  before 
launching  him  out  upon  the  ocean  of  the  world,  show  him  in  the 
heavens  the  star  which  should  guide  him.  And  as  a  nation  is 
but  the  aggregate  of  families,  the  thoughts  and  feelings  and 
character  of  woman  will  become  those  of  the  nation  itself,  and 
her  character  become — ^as  it  often,  indeed,  ahcays  has  done, — 
the  national  character. 

Women,  therefore,  educate  us  as  children,  govern  us  as 
youth,  and  inspire  us  as  men.  And  hence,  their  influence, 
humanly  speaking,  is  oninipotent  for  good  or  for  evil.  They 
either  ruin  or  regenerate, — ennoble  or  degrade, — ^purify  or  cor- 
rupt,— gladden  or  saddeni — the  heart  of  society.  A  mother's 
power  incites  to  good  or  evil,  and  regulating — as  woman  does — 
the  details  of  domestic  life,  all  that  most  nearly  concerns  the 
human  race ;  comes  home  to  their  bosoms ;  and-  conspires  to 
constitute  their  happiness  w*hich  is  entrusted  to  her  care. 

We  have  thus  seen  that  in  some  respects,  woman  is  equal  to 
man,  and  in  some  respects  unequal,  only  however,  that  out  of 
weakness  she  might  be  made  strong.  But  we  remark,  further, 
that  if  mental  qualities  are  more  exalted  than  either  physical 
or  intellectual,  and  the  virtues  of  humanity,  patience,  forbear- 
ance, long-suftering.  generosity,  self-sacrifice,  and  loving-kind- 
ness are  superior  to  the  sterner,  though  not  less  necessary,  vir- 
tues of  justice,  courage  and  endiirance,  (and  are  we  not  told 
that  "God  is  love,"  and  that  His  tender  mercies  are  over  all  His 
works,""''')  then  is  woman,  whose  qualities  these  are  and  should 
be.  endowed  with  attributes  more  exalted  than  those  which 
characterize  man's  more  stern  and  rugged  soul. 

O  fairest  of  creation,  last  and  best 

Of  all  God's  works,  creature  in  whom  excell'd. 

Whatever  can  to  sight  or  thought  be  forni'd, 

Holy,  divine,   good,   amiable  or  sweet ! 

Hers  is  that  love  sulilime. 

And  hers  that  strength  of  feeling  great 

Above  all  human  estimate. 

*Ps.  145-9. 

"iSee  some  very  judicious  remarks  on  the  wisdom  of  this  incctuality  in 
Mrs.  Elliss's  "Wives  of  England,"  Ch.  iii,  p.  72,  Eng.  ed.,  and  p.  45,  Ch.  ii. 


SPHERE,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY  OF  WOMAK.  oil 

Goodness,  therefore,  and  not  greatness  is  woman's  sphere. 
And  to  cultivate  and  cherisb  goodness  is  the  design  of  God  in 
the  sphere  allotted  to  woman  and  wihich  as  it  saves  her  from 
many  temptations  gives  her  the  opportunity  of  adorning  herself 
with  many  virtues.*  Religion,  therefore,  elevates  woman  by 
elevating  the  qualities  with  which  she  is  endowed;  by  defining 
her  duties,  and  by  sanctifying  her  influence.  Home  is  her 
throne,  influence  her  sceptre,  kindness  her  law,  prudence,  dis- 
cretion and  compliance  her  handmaids,  and  the  hearts  of  men 
her  empire. 

How  noble,  then,  is  woman's  mission  How  exalted  her  high 
calling.  Hers  is  the  only  universal  power,  the  only  enduring 
kingdom,  the  only  undying  glory,  and  the  only  unchanging  hap- 
piness. The  entire  circle  of  life  rolls  round  beneath  her  influ- 
ence. She  is  weak  that  she  may  regulate  strength — ^tender, 
that  she  may  controul  the  mighty,  and  full  of  love  that  sihe  may 
endure  all  things,  hope  all  things,  bear  all  things,  accomplish  all 
things  and  be  found  when  necessary,  stronger  in  purpose,  forti- 
tude and  reserve  than  death  itself. 

Oh !  say  not  woman's  lot  is  hard, 

Her  path  a  path  of  sorrow  ; 
To-day,  perchance,  some  joy  debarred 

May  yield  more  joy  to-morrow  ; 

It  is  not  hard — it  cannot  be, 

To  speak  in  tones  of  gladness. 
To  hush  the  sight  of  misery, 

And  soothe  the  brow  of  sadness. 

It  is  not  hard  sweet  flowers  to  spread, 

To  strew  the  path  with  roses, 
To  smoothe  the  couch,  and  rest  the  head, 

Where  some  loved  friend  reposes. 

It  is  not  hard  to  trim  the  hearth 

For  brothers  home  returning  ; 
To  wake  the  songs  of  harmless  mirth, 

When  winter  fires  are  burning. 

It  is  not  hard  a  sister's  love 

To  pay  with  love  as  tender  ; 
When  cares  perplex,  and  trials  prove, 

A  sister's  help  to  render. 

It  is  not  hard  when  troubles  come, 

And  doubts  and  fears  distressing, 
To  shelter  in  a  father's  home, 

And  feel  a  mother's  blessing. 

*The  views  here  given  will  be  found  very  well  developed  in  Miss  Coxes' 
very  interesting  and  valuable  volumes  on  "The  Claims  of  the  Country  on 
American  Families."  and  very  beautifully  by  Mrs.  Huntington  in  her  Diary. 
See  her  Memoirs,  p.  .56. 


543  SPHERE,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY  OF  WOMAN. 

It  is  not  hard  when  storms  arise 

'Mid  darkness  and  dejection, 
To  look  to  heaven  with  trusting  eyes, 

And  ask  its  kind  protection. 

Then  say  not  woman's  lot  is  hard, 

Her  path  the  path  of  sorrow  ; 
To-day,  perchance,  some  joy  debarred 

May  yield  sweet  peace  to-morrow. 

How  allHimportant,  then,  the  character  and  education  of 
women,  since  to  them  is  committed  the  moral  education  of  the 
worlds — ^the  sowing  of  the  seeds  of  "virtue  in  the  soul  and  vigor 
in  the  mind!" 

How  invaluable  that  divine  revelation  which  has  taught 
^voman  her  sphere,  and  man  her  dignity,  worth  and  power ! 

How  surely,  also,  do  all  schemes  which  would  favour  polyg- 
amy or  promiscuous  marriage,  or  which  would  drag  woman 
into  the  arena  of  public  life,  and  the  contests  of  fame,  literature 
and  ambition,  or  whioli,  on  the  other  hand,  would  withdraw 
her  from  the  family  circle,  where  she  sits  as  the  presiding 
genius;  w'hich  she  establishes  in  order;  and  from  which  as  a 
seminary  she  sends  forth  well  disposed,  well  disciplined,  and 
well  accoutred  citizens — 'how  surely,  I  say,  do  all  such  theories, 
whether  sanctioned  by  infidelity,  superstition  or  false  religion, 
degrade,  enervate  and  destroy  the  influence  of  woman  and*  the 
character  of  inan ! 

As  is  woman  so  has  been  every  age  and  nation.  Man  can 
not  degrade  woman  without  degrading  himself.  He  cannot 
keep  her  ignorant  witliout  obscuring  his  own  sunshine.  He 
cannot  belittle  and  fritter  her  mind  by  vanity,  flattery,  and  vain 
superficial  accomplisihments  without  injuring  to  a  correspond- 
ing extent  the  character  of  society.  If  he  sensualize  her  he 
debihtates  and  destroys  himself.  H  he  immures  and  cloisters 
her,  he  withdraws  from  society,  its  light,  its  leaven,  and  its  life. 
If  she  is  corrupt,  the  very  soul  of  society  is  infected  with  a 
contagious  leprosy.  Do  you  ask  for  proof  ?  We  appeal  to  all 
history,  and  to  all  ages — we  appeal  to  Pagan  and  Mahommedian 
lands — we  appeal  to  France,  to  Spain,  to  England  at  her  vari- 
ous epochs  and  to  our  own  countr}^ 

Woman's  true  sphere,  then,  is  the  heart — the  home — ^the 
family,  and   all   the  correspondent   offices   of   kindness,    and 


SPHERE,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY  OF  WOMAN.  543 

charity,  which  conspire  to  elevate,  refine  and  ennoble  these,  and 
to  unite  man  to  God  and  man  to  man. 

Seek  to  be  good,  but  aim  not  to  be  great ; 
A  woman's  noblest  station  is  retreat : 
Her  fairest  virtues  fly  from  public  sight ; 
Domestic  worth, — that  shuns  the  strong  a  light. 

Amid  the  deep  degradation  and  misery  in  vvhioh  Rousseau 
found  France  When,  as  Aime-Martin,  says,  "bound  down 
beneath  the  weight  of  tiheir  long  servitude  the  people  were  bar- 
barous in  the  midst  of  civilization,  and  ignorant  in  the  midst 
of  ridhes,"  the  genius  of  Rousseau  was  devoted  to  the  subject 
of  regenerating  the  nation  by  regenerating  its  families.  He 
aimed,  therefore,  at  fitting  each  woman  to  be  a  mother,  and  by 
securing  each  mother  to  be  a  wife,  he  expected  that  each  child 
would  become  a  worthy  citizeni  Rousseau  pointed  out  the 
lever  that  could  elevate  society,  but  he  knew  not,  alas,  that  gos- 
pel which  is  the  only  power  able  to  wield  that  lever — "the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation.'' 

Similar  was  the  plan  of  another  great  genius  for  the  regula- 
tion of  society,  the  English  Sheridan.  "Women  govern  us," 
said  he,  "let  us  try  to  render  them'  perfect,  the  more  they  are 
eniightened,  so  much  the  more  so  shall  we  be.  On  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  mind  of  women  depends  the  wisdom  of  men.  It  is 
by  women  that  nature  writes  on  the  heart  of  man." 

Such  is  the  voice  of  genius,  and  such  is  the  voice  of  humanr 
ity.  And  to  this  voice  all  histoiy  is  an  echo,  for  there  is,  per- 
haps, no  exception  to  the  rule  that  all  great  men  have  had  good 
mothers  Who  fanned  the  flame  of  genius  and  nursed — ^their  vir- 
tues, their  valour,  their  patriotism  or  their  love  of  learning — 
into  life.*  The  proofs  of  this  truth  abound  on  every  side 
whether  we  turn  to  ancient  or  modem  history,  to  France,  to 
England,  to  Germany  or  to  America. 

Such,  then,  is  the  sphere  of  woman,  the  sphere  which  God 
gave  her,  for  which  God  endowed  her,  to  which  religion  conse- 
crates her  and  whose  cultivation  as  a  daughter,  a  sister,  a  wife, 
a  mother,  a  friend  and  a  christian  it  requires  from  her. 

Tihis  sphere  can  appear  limited  or  low  only  to  those  who 
think  happiness  inferior  to  parade  and  pomp,  or  who  are  absurd 
enough  to  imagine  that  this  happiness  depends  on  the  compara- 

*See  Aime-Martin,  pp.  5,  9,  65,  and  '"The  Mothers  of  England." 


544  SPHERE,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY  OF  WOMAN. 

tively  few  events  which  are  great  and  glorious  rather  than  upow 
t(he  small  but  perpetually  recurring  incidents  of  good  or  evil 
which  fonn  the  staple  of  human  life. 

And  now  as  it  regards  the  character  of  woman  this  may  be 
inferred  f rom^  her  sphere  and'  'her  dtuties.  Nature  has  assigned 
her  a  capacity  for  "industry,  neatness  and  economy  to  engage 
her  in  the  tranquil  occupations  of  her  appropriate  sphere." 

Self-denial,  self-renunciation,  self-sacrifice,  patience,  endur- 
ance, discretion,  prudence,  modesty  and  grace — ithese  are  the 
meek  and  quiet  ornaments  of  woman. 

It  is  accordingly  manifest,  that,  in  sprightliness  and  vivacity, 
in  quickness  of  perception,  in  fertility  of  invention!,  in  powers 
adapted  to  unbend  the  brow  of  her  learned,  to  refresh  the  over- 
laboured faculties  of  the  wise,  and  to  diffuse  thiroughout  the 
family  circle  the  enlivening  and  endearing  smile  of  cheerful- 
ness, the  superiority  of  her  female  mind  is  unrivalled. 

Were  we  called  upon  to  produce  examples  of  the  most  amia- 
ble tendencies  and)  affections  implanted  in  human  nature, — of 
modesty,  of  delicacy,  of  sympathizing  sensibility,  of  prompt 
and  active  benevolence,  of  warmth  and  tenderness  of  attaclv 
menit? — whither  sbould  we  at  once  turn  our  eyes?  To  the 
sister,  to  the  daughter,  to  the  wife? 

The  testimony  of  Ledyard,  one  of  the  most  extensive  travel- 
ers, is  ver}^  striking :  'T  'have  always  remarked  that  women  in 
all  countries  are  civil,  obliging,  tender,  and  humane;  that  the)' 
are  ever  inclined  to  be  gay  and  cheerful,  timorous  and  modest ; 
and  tlhat  they  do  not  hesitate,  like  men,  to  perform  a  generous 
action.  Not  haughty,  not  arrogant,  not  supercilious,  they  are 
full  of  courtesy,  and  fond  of  society ;  more  liable  in  general,  to 
err  than  man;  but  in  general,  also,  more  virtuous,  and  perform- 
ing more  good  actions  than  he.  To  a  woman,  whether  civilized 
or  savage,  I  never  addressed  myself  in  the  language  of  decency 
and  friendship  without  receiving  a  decent  auid  friendly  answer. 
With  man  it  has  often  been  otherwise.  In  wandering  over  the 
Ijarren  plains  of  inhospitable  Denmark,  through  honest  Sweden 
and  frozen-  Lapland,  rude  and  churlish  Findland.,  unprincipled 
Russia,  and  the  wide-spread  regions  of  the  wandering  Tartar; 
if  hungry,  dry,  cold,  wet  or  sick  the  women  bave  ever  been 
friendly  to  me,  and  uniformly  so.     And  to  add  to-  this  virtue, 


SPHERE,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY  OF  WOMAN.  545 

SO  worthy  the  appellation  of  benevolence ;  these  actions  have 
been  performed  in  so  free  and  so  kind  a  manner;  that  if  I  was 
dry,  I  drank  the  sweetest  draught,  and,  if  hungry,  I  ate  the 
coarse  morsel  with  double  relish." 

Now,  all  these  qualities  of  woman's  nature  the  PJible  recog- 
nizes and  the  gospel  renovates  antl  refines. 

"Her  price,"  says  Solomon,  in  describing  a  virtuous  and 
accomplished  woman,  "is  far  above  rubies.  The  heart  of  her 
husband'  doth  safely  trust  in  her,  so*  that  he  shall  have  no  need 
oi  spoil.  She  will  do  him  good  and  not  evil  all  the  days  of  her 
Hfe.  She  seeketh  wool  and  flax,  ami  worketh  willingly  with 
her  hands.  She  is  like  the  merchants'  ship,  she  bringeth  her 
food'  from  afar.  She  riseth  also  while  it  is  yet  night,  and 
giveth  meat  to  her  household,  and  a  portion  to  her  maidens. 
She  considereth  a  field'  and  buyeth  it;  with  the  fruit  of  her 
hands  she  planteth  a  vineyard.  She  girdeth  her  loins  with 
strength,  and  strengtheneth  her  arms.  She  perceiveth  that  her 
merchandise  is  good,  her  candle  goeth  not  out  by  night.  .She 
layeth  her  hands  to  the  spindle,  and  her  hands  hold  the  distaff. 
She  stretcheth  out  her  hand  to  the  poor  ;  yea,  she  reacheth  forth 
her  hands  to  the  needy.  He  is  not  afraid  of  the  snow  for  her 
household  are  clothed  with  scarlet.  She  maketh  herself  cover- 
ings of  tapestry,  her  clothing  is  silk  and  purple.  Her  husband 
is  known  in  the  gates,  when  he  sittcth  among  the  elders  of  the 
land.  She  maketh  fine  linen,  and  selleth  it,  and  delivereth 
girdles  unto  the  merchant.  Strength  and  honour  are  her  cloth- 
ing; and  she  sihall  rejoice  in  time  to  come.  She  openeth  her 
mouth  with  wisdom,  and  in  her  tongue  is  the  law  of  kindness. 
She  looketh  well  to  the  ways  of  her  household, and  eateth  not  the 
bread  of  idleness.  Her  children  arise  up  and  call  her  blessed ; 
lier  husband  also,  and  he  praiseth  her.  Many  daughters  have 
done  virtuously,  but  thou- excelleth  them  all.  Favour  is  deceit- 
ful and  beauty  is  vain ;  but  a  woman  that  feareth  the  Lord,  she 
shall  be  praised.  Give  her  of  the  fruit  of  her  hands,  and  let 
her  own  works  praise  her  in  the  gates."" 

From  this  part  of  our  subject,  then.,  we  may  learn,  in  the  first 
place,  the  supreme  importance  of  female  education,  since  if 
the  influence  of  women  is  so  universal  and  so  vital,  all  that  is 

*Proverbs  31,  10-31.     1  Tim.  2,  12-14.     Titus  2,  4-5.     1  Pet.  3,  3-4. 
35_Vol.  X. 


oiQ  SPHERE,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY  OF  WOMAN. 

clear  to  humanity,  depends  on  the  character  which  that  influ- 
ence assumes,  and  the  objects  towards  which  it  is  directed.  If 
it  is  allowed  to  foster  the  kists  of  the  flesh,  the  lusts  of  the  eyes, 
and  the  pride  of  Ufe,  then  such  will  be  the  aim,  object,  and  entd 
of  life  and  the  depraved  character  of  man.  But  if,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  sanctified  and  pure,  and  directed  to  the  prci-mo- 
tion  of  virtue,  goodness  and  piety,  then  we  may  hope  to  see  the 
minennial  age  of  our  world's  blessedness  hastened  on. 

That  from  the  distribution  God  has  made  both  of  the  quali- 
ties an'd  the  duties  of  humanity,  there  is  and  can  be  no  proper 
ground  for  jealousy  or  contention  between  the  sexes  as  to 
superiority.  Each  occupies  a  separate  sphere  and  fulfils  a 
separate  economy,  while  both  are  alike  interesting,  important 
and  necessary  to  the  species.  "Nevertheless,"  says  the  apostle, 
after  afiirming  the  priority  of  man  as  it  regards  the  order  of 
creation  and  the  possession^  of  authority,  let  not  man  abuse  this 
order  by  tyranny  or  haughty  pride  since  it  is  evident  that  "the 
man  is  not  without  the  woman  nor  the  woman  without  the 
man." 

We  learn  also  the  unspeakable  value  of  that  divine  philos- 
ophy contained  in  the  "glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God," 
which  so  fully  promises  and  provides  for  the  elevation,  happi- 
ness, and  lustre  of  the  present  life  as  well  as  of  that  which  is 
to  come,  by  prescribing  to  each  sex  their  respective  duties  and 
inspiring  them  with  motives  actuating  to  their  discharge.  And 
here  let  us  gratefully  rejoice  that  we  are  protestanits,  that  we 
live  in  a  protestant  country  and  age.  and  that  our  institutions, 
our  system  of  education,  and  our  social  order  and  habits  are 
directed  anid  controlled  by  the  free,  liberal,  and  refining  influ- 
ence of  an  untrammelled  and  uncorrupted  Christianity.  For, 
while  any  form  of  Christianity,  the  least  glimmering  of  its 
light  is  immeasurably  to  be  preferred  to  paganism,  yet  it  is 
also  true  that  in  countries  where  Christianity  is  corrupted  and 
its  free  spirit  enchained  woman  has  been,  and  is  degraded. 
"All  t'hat  tends  to  enlarge  the  ideas,  enlighten  the  conscience, 
and  elevate  the  soul  are  not  to  be  thought  of  by  the  women  of 
such  lands ;"  and  a  people  are  consequently  produced,  charac- 
terized, as  Aime-Martin  forcibly  says,  by  "an  ignorance  that 
believes  all,  by  a  superstition  that  does  not  reason,  and  by  a 


SPHERE,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY  OF  WOMAN.  547 

fanaticism  that  postrates  itself,  and  then  rising  says,  Whom 
shall  I  strike?" 

The  object  in  such  countries,  as  he  further  remarks,  is  to 
make  woman  "a  penitent,  and  a  coquette ;  the  delight  of  a 
saloon,  or  the  angel  of  a  conivenit,"  entirely  forgetting  that  the 
perfect  woman  is  she  who  at  the  same  time  leads  a  social  and 
reHgious  life,  the  life  of  home,  moral  life,  and  who  discharges 
well  the  duties  of  sister,  daughter,  mother  and  wife.  "In  such 
countries,"  he  adds,  "religion  instructs  women  f  roin  the  pulpit ; 
but  by  concentrating  its  morality  in  penitential  practices,  it  pre- 
sents more  inducements  for  repentance  than  for  the  practice  of 
virtue.  The  Massillons,  the  Bourdalons,  the  Boussets  labour 
to  stifle  the  passions — when  they  should  have  learned  how  to 
direct  them.  Far  from  sustaining  humanity,  they  crushed  it 
beneath  the  yoke  of  a  violent  urmatural  and  unchristian  doc- 
trine, while  their  greatest  aim  was  not  to  make  its  victims 
Hve  honestly  in  the  world,  but  to  tear  them  from  it  altogether." 

Christianity,  pure,  free,  protestant  Christianity  alone  teaches 
us  the  duty  of  strengthening  "women  because  they  are  weak; 
of  enlightening  them,  because  they  are  powerful,"  and  of  seek- 
ing in  them  fit  companions  in  all  the  paths  of  wisdom  here, 
and  in  all  the  recompense  of  reward  hereafter.  Man  being 
essentially  born  for  society,  he  must  have  a  companion,  a 
friend,  a  second  self,  who  associates  herself  with  his  existence, 
w^ho  shares  his  joys  and  his  griefs. 

We  learn,  thirdly,  the  defects  to  which  the  female  character 
is  most  exposed.  The  gay  vivacity  and  the  quickness  of  imagi- 
nation, so  conspicuous  among  the  qualities  in  which  the  superi- 
ority, of  women  is  acknowledged,  have  a  tendency  to  lead  to 
unsteadiness  of  mind,  to  fondness  of  novelty,  to  habits  of 
f  rivolousness  and  trifling  employment ;  to  dislike  of  sober  appli- 
cation, to  repugnance  to  graver  studies,  and  to  a  low  estimation 
of  their  worth ;  to  an  unreasonable  regard  for  wit  and  shining 
accompli sihments ;  to  a  thrist  for  admiration  and  applause ;  to 
vanity  and  affection.  They  contribute  likewise  to  endanger 
the  composure  and  mildness  of  the  temper,  and  to  render  the 
disposition  fickle  through  caprice  and  uncertain  through  irrita- 
bility. 


548  SPHERE,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY  OF  WOMAN. 

Such,  then,  my  brethren,  is  the  sphere,  character  and  destiny 
of  Avoman,  and  it  would  he  an  easy  and  dehghtful  task  to  show 
from  the  history  of  all  ages  that  to  female  and  especially 
material,  influence, — where  enlightened  and  judicious — litera- 
ture is  indebted  for  much  of  its  progress  and  polish ; — science 
for  its  most  eminent  philosoplhers  and  patrons; — ^the  state  for 
its  wisest  legislators,  and  its  purest  patriots ; — and.  reHgioni  for 
its  most  successful  agents,  its  most  efficient  missionaries  and 
its  most  numerous,  most  devoted,  and  most  self-denying  vota- 
ries. But  we  must  forbear,  and  only  further  remark  that  this 
benign  and  happy  influence  of  woman  depends  not  upon  her 
greatness  and  power  of  intellect,  but  upon  her  goodness  of  dis- 
position and  of  heart.  It  is,  therefore,  within,  the  reach  of  all, 
and  to  be  sought  after  and  emulated  by  all.  It  requires  neither 
fortune,  publicity,  nor  station.  For  even  as  the  fairest  flowers 
are  produced  in  the  shade  and  retirement  of  the  garden,  so  have 
the  greatest  and  wisest  men  sprang  up  amid  the  obscurity  and 
retirement  of  material  guardianship,  in  many  cases  witliout  any 
advantage  from  the  sunshine  of  favour,  or  of  power,  and  even 
without  the  help  of  a  father's  care. 

Her  whose  death  we  deplore,  Mrs.  Simonton,  was  in  every 
sense  an^  examplar  of  what  a  woman  should  be  to  fulfil  her 
destiny  in  the  world.  She  sought  to  please  and  not  to  capti- 
vate ;  to  benefit  and  not  to  receive  vain  and  fulsome  gratula- 
tion;  not  to  be  a  wife  or  a  mother  but  to  discharge  well  the 
duties  which  those  eventful  relations  entail.  Mrs.  Simonton 
was  tndy  "a  mother  in  Israel." 

Death  came  but  found  her  waiting  and  working.  Death 
came,  but  without  his  sting.  Tihe  grave  opened.,  but  without  its 
gloom.  Her  work  was  done,  her  travail  and  her  toil  accom- 
plished, her  pilgrimage  complete  and  now  she  is  forever  with 
the  Lord,  with  Him,  her  Consort. 

Grieve  not  for  her.     Onward! 


First  and  Second  Advents 
of  Christ 


TWO  DISCOURSES 

BY    THE 

Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 
Charleston.  S.  C. 


FIRST    AND    SECOND    ADVENTS    OF 
CHRIST. 


.     DISCOURSE  ONE. 
Hebrews  ix  :  27,  28. 

And  as  it  is  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  but  after  this  the  judgment ; 
so  Christ  was  once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many  ;  and  unto  them  that 
look  for  Him  shall  He  appear  the  second  time  without  sin  unto  salvation. 

In  this  passage,  the  two  great  cardinal  events  in  the  histor>' 
of  redemption  are  stated  in  connexion  with  one  another — the 
first  and-  the  second  coming  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and  the 
two  great  cardinal  points  of  christian  doctrine  involved  in  them 
— the  justification  of  believers  by  His  atoning  sacrifice  at  Eiis 
first  coming,  and  their  completed  salvation  and  exaltation  at 
His  second  coming. 

In  all  ages,  the  faith  of  the  church  has  been  exercised,  parti)' 
in  looking  back  upon  past  events,  and  partly  in  looking  fon\ard 
to  the  future  fulfilment  of  proiuises ;  the  past  events  being  the 
foundation  of  the  faith,  and  the  promises  the  superstructure 
resting  upon  it.  During  the  Old  Testament  dispensation  ix>th 
of  the  comings  of  Christ  were  among  the  promises,  both  being 
then  future ;  and  the  foundation  on  which  the  confident  expec- 
tation of  them  was  made  to  rest  was  the  previous  manifesta- 
tions which  God  had  given  of  His  existence  and  His  character 
— a  foundation  which  was  becoming  deeper,  and  fiercer,  and 
wider,  as  every  succeeding  age  brought  along  with  it  new  evi- 
dences of  His  power,  and  grace,  and  faithfulness,  in  His  deal- 
ings with  His  people. 

As  both  of  the  comings  of  the  Messiah  were,  under  the  (Jld 
Testament  dispensation,  among  the  promises  they  were  not  so 
clearly  distinguished  from  one  another  that  the  saints  of  that 
age  could  discriminate  between  them,  or  even  be  certain;  that 
there  were  to  ibe  a  first  and  second  coming.  Scenes  of  humili- 
ation and  of  glory  were  so  intermingled,  that  although  they 
were  firmly  persuaded  that  a  Messiah — and  anointed  I'rophet 
and  King — was  to  come,  they  could  scarcely,  even  if  they  had 
sat  down  to  the  inquiry  with  an  unbiased  mind,  have  arrived 
at  any  result  beyond  conjecture  that  there  might  be  implied  a 


554  FIRST  AND  SECOND  ADVENTS  OF  CHRIST. 

first  and  second'  coming  of  that  Great  Personage.  But  m  trutih, 
as  was  very  natural,  they  seem  generally  to  'have  passed  by  the 
predictions  of  suffering  as  incomprehensible,  and  to  have  fixed 
their  attention  exclusively  on  "the  glory  that  was  to  follow ;" 
and  perhaps  very  few  of  them  ever  advanced  further  thani  the 
Ethiopian  eunuch,  who  on  reading  the  description  of  our 
Lord's  sufferings,  said  to  Philip,  "of  whom  speaketh  the 
prophet  this,  of  himself,  or  of  some  other  man?" 

But,  when  our  Lord  came  to  take  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice 
of  Himself,  and,  when,  after  having  died.  He  rose  from  the 
dead,  and  ascended  to  heaven,  the  first  advent  came  to  be 
clearly  distinguished  from  the  second  advent ;  and  not  only  so, 
but  the  first  advent  was  immediately  transferred  from  its 
former  place  among  the  promises  to  a  place  in  the  foundation 
on  which  the  promises  are  made  to  rest.  And  it  became  not 
merely  one  of  the  foundations,  but  ''the  chief  corner  stone"  of 
the  foundation,  nay,  in  a  certain  sense,  the  only  foundation. 
That  Jesus  was  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God' — is  that 
rock  on  which  the  c'hurcb,  with  all  its  hopes  is  built.  "Other 
foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus 
Christ." 

This  first  coming  of  Christ  is  the  great  foundation  of  the 
faith  of  His  people  in  various  points  of  view.  The  offering 
up  Himself  is  the  ground  of  our  acceptance  wit'h  God — the 
satisfying  of  the  law  in  our  stead — the  price  of  our  ransom 
from  bondage — the  actual  purchase  of  the  promised  inheritance 
which  is  now  laid  up  in  Christ's  possession  on  behalf  of  those 
who  believe  on  Him.  His  resurrection  from  the  dead  is  the 
pledge  of  our  resurrection ;  and  the  visible  ascension  of  Christ 
to  heaven  was  instantly  applied  by  the  angels  who  appeared  to 
the  apostles  who  were  yet  gazing  upwards  after  Him,  as  the 
pledge  and  illustration  of  His  again  coming  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven. 

And  when  the  foundation  was  thus  deepened  and  consoli- 
dated, a  correspondiing  enlargement  and  importance  was  given 
to  the  promises  which  were  to  rest  upon  it.  Under  the  Old 
Testament  dispensation,  the  direct  promises  were  chiefly  of  a 
temporal  kind.  Abraham  was  to  have  a  numerous  posterity, 
and  the  land  of  Canaan  for  their  inheritance;  He  was  also  to 


FIRST  AND  Sl'XONI)  ADX  KNTS  OP  CHRIST.  555 

have  a  great  name,  and  in  His  seed  were  all  nations  of  the 
eapth  to  be  blessed.  Wihen  the  temporal  part  of  these  promises 
(for  they  included  spiritual  things)  was  fulfilled  in  the  days 
of  Solomon,  a  great  accession  was  madle  to  the  foundation  of 
the  faith,  and  a  corresponiding  extension  was  given  to  the 
promises.  Solomon  was  directed  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  to 
declare  the  insufficiency  and  vanity  of  that  very  temporal  pros- 
perity, which  he  had  enjoyed  by  promise ;  and,  as  the  nation 
sank  under  the  influence  Oif  corruption,  succeeding  prophets 
were  guided  by  the  same  spirit  toi  direct  the  attention  of  the 
people  of  God  to  scenes  of  future  gloi-y — to  the  coming  of  the 
anointed  one  of  God,  and  to  the  rise  of  a  glorious  kingdom 
under  Him,  the  chief  excellency  of  which  was  to  be  the  holiness 
of  the  people — andi  these  predictions  became  every  day  more 
spiritual  till  the  close  of  the  Old  Testament  prophecy. 

When  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  came,  and  laid  an  adequate 
foundation  by  His  death  and  resurrection,  and  ascension  to 
heaven,  then  the  promises  were  made  to  stretch  forward  into 
eternity.  His  disciples  were  taught  explicity  that  they  must 
abandon  every  hope  of  a  portion:  upon  the  earth^ — of  an  inherit- 
ance during  their  sojourn  here; — that  in  the  world  they  were 
to  expect  nothing  but  tribulation ; — and  that  they  must  post- 
pone their  hope  of  happiness  till  after  they  had  closed  their  eyes 
on  everything  carnal  and  temporal,  and  had  opened  them  on  the 
unseen  wonders  of  eternity, — especially  till  the  Lord  Jesus 
should  have  come  in  His  glory.  The  church  was,  from  that 
time,  to-  know  nothing,  not  even  Jesus  Himself,  "after  the 
fllesh."  It  was  to  be  forever  weaned  from  external  exhibi- 
tionis  of  dazzling  light,  of  imposing  sights  and  sounds,  and  of 
outward  state  an^d  splendour — all  of  which  had  been  necessar}^ 
in  its  infancy  and  childhood.  Jesus  had  now  appeared  in  His 
true  glory — "the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father" — 
"the  likeness  of  the  Father's  glory  and  the  express  image  of 
His  person;"  He  had  appeared  in  the  glory  of  His  power,  wis- 
dom, justice,  mercy,  love,  and  unbounded  generosity,  all 
blended  and  harmonized  in  the  great  work  of  redemption;  and 
the  Church  is  thenceforth  to  rise  albove  the  "beggarly  elements" 
of  the  world,  and  to  appreciate  the  surpassing  excellency  of 
that  true  spiritual  glory,  the  glory  of  iholiness,  which  she  had 


556  FIRST  AND  SECOND  ADVENTS  OF  CHRIST. 

witnessed',  and  to  fix  'her  hope  on  being  called  to  participate 
in  it. 

The  second  coming  of  Christ  has  been  held  forth,  from  the 
beginning  as  the  great  object  of  the  faith  and  hope  of  the 
church.  It  is  includled  in  the  first  promise  after  the  fall,  that 
"the  seed  of  the  woman  should  bruise  the  head  of  the  sequent." 
It  was  more  distinctly  announced  by  Enoch,  the  seventh  from 
Adam,  as  the  Apostle  Jude  informs  us :  "And  Enoch  also,  the 
seventh  from  Adam,  prophesied  of  these,  saying.  Behold,  the 
Lord  cometh  with  ten  thousand  of  His  saints."'  It  was  repeated 
in  Ps.  1-6:  "Our  God  shall  come,  and  shall  not  keep  silence:  a 
fire  sfhall  devour  before  Him,  and  it  shall  be  very  tempestuous 
round  about  Him.  He  shall  call  tO'  the  heavens  from  above, 
and  to  the  earth  that  He  may  judge  His  people.  Gather  my 
saints  together  unto  me ;  those  that  have  made  a  covenant  with 
me  by  sacrifice  and  the  heavens  shall  declare  His  righteousness  : 
for  God  is  Judge  Himself."  It  is  anticipated  in  those  Psalms 
in  which  all  nature  is  called  on  to  "rejoice  before  the  Lord, 
because  He  cometh  to  judge  the  world  in  righteousness."  It  is 
implied  and  alluded  to  in  many  passages  of  the  prophetical 
Books.  But  both  the  advents  and  their  consequents,  being  theni 
future,  those  predicationis  which  refer  tO'  the  first  adi\'ent  and  its 
cx>nsequents  previous  to  the  second  advent,  and  those  which 
refer  to  the  second  advent  and  its  consequents,  are  so  inter- 
woven, that  they  cannot,  I  apprehend,  with  any  degree  of  cer- 
tainty, 'be  disentangled.  We  shall,  therefore,  pass  oil  to  the 
New  Testament,  where  we  shall  find  it  presented  in  a  great 
variety  of  aspects. 

Our  Lord's  second  coming  is  taught  and  illustrated  in  several 
of  His  own  parables ;  as  the  parable  of  the  wise  and  foolish 
virgins,  when  "those  that  were  ready  went  in  with  the  bride- 
groom at  his  coming,  and  the  door  was  shut ;"  the  parable  of 
the  man  taking  a  far  journey,  giving  a  charge  to  his  servants, 
and.  on  his  return,  calling  them  to  account ;  of  the  nobleman 
who  was  heir  to  a  kingdom,  going  to  a  great  distance  to  receive 
the  kingdom  and  to  return,  giving  also  a  charge  to  'his  servants, 
and  on  his  return  rewarding  those  that  were  faithful,  punish- 
ing the  unfaithful  servant,  and,  at  the  same  time,  punishing 
his  enemies  that  would  not  have  him  to  reign  over  them.     It  is 


FIRST  AND  SKCOND  ADVP:nTS  OF  CHRIST.  ')0  i 

allmledi  to  also  in  the  parable  with  which  He  concludes  His 
sermon  on  the  mount — ^the  building  on  a  rock,  and  building  on 
the  sand,  and  the  tempest  of  wind  and  rain  and  flood  that  was 
eflFectually  to  test  the  soundness  and  strength  of  the  house  ;  also 
in  the  parables  of  the  tares  anid  the  wiheat,  and  of  the  net  cast 
into  the  sea.  It  is  directly  announced  by  our  Lord  in  several 
of  His  discourses  :  "For  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  the  glory 
of  His  Father  with  His  angels  ;  and  then'  He  shall  reward  every 
man  according  to  His  works."  "Hereafter  shall  ye  see  the  son 
of  man  sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  power,  and  coming  in  the 
clouds  of  heaven."  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  untO'  you,  the  hour 
is  coming  and  now  is,  when  the  dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the 
Son  of  God :  and  they  that  hear  shall  live.  Marvel  not  at  this 
for  the  hour  is  coming,  in  wihich  all  that  are  in  the  graves  shall 
hear  His  voice,  and  shall  come  forth  ;  they  that  have  done  good, 
unto  the  resurrection  of  Life;  and  they  that  have  done  evil 
unto  the  resurrection  of  damnation."  and  it  is  thus  graphically 
described :  "When  the  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  His  glory,  and 
all  the  holy  angels  with  Him,  then  shall  He  sit  upon  the  throne 
of  His  glory :  and  before  Him  shall  be  gathered  all  nations : 
and  He  shall  separate  them  one  from  another,  as  a  shepherd 
ddvideth  his  sheep  from  the  goats :  and  He  shall  set  the  sheep 
on  His  right  hand  but  the  goats  on  the  left." 

Again,  the  very  first  announcement  that  was  made  to  the 
disciples,  after  our  Lord's  ascension,  was,  that  in  like  manner 
He  should  come  again:  "And  when  He  had  spoken  these  things, 
while  they  beheld  He  was  taken  up,  and  a  cloud  received  Him. 
out  of  their  sight.  And  while  they  looked  steadfastly  toward 
heaven  as  He  went  up,  behold  two  men  stood  by  them  in  white 
apparel,  which  also  said,  Ye  men  of  Galilee,  why  stand  ye 
gazing  up  into  heaven?  this  samie  Jesus,  which  is  taken  from 
you  into  heaven',  shall  so  come  in  like  manner  as  ye  have  seen' 
Him  go  into  heaven."  The  great  revolution  that  is  to  be 
affected'  by  the  second  advent  is  strongly  marked  by  the  Apostle 
Peter:  "Repent  ye  therefore,  and  be  converted,  that  your  sins 
may  be  blotted  out,  when  the  times  of  refreshing  shall  come 
from  the  presence  of  the  Lord ;  and  He  shall  send  Jesus  Christ, 
which  before  was  preached  unto  you :  whom  the  heaven  must 
receive  until  the  times  of  restitution  of  all  things,  which  God 


558  FIRST  AND  SECOND  ADVENTS  OF  CHRIST. 

hath  spoken  by  the  mouth  of  all  His  holy  prophets  since  the 
world  began."  "For  if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose 
again,  even  so  them  also  which'  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  hring 
with  Him."  "But  of  the  times  and  the  seasons,  brethren,  ye 
have  no  need  that  I  write  unto  you.  For  yourselves  know  per- 
fectly that  the  day  of  the  Lord  so  cometh  as  a  thief  in  the  night. 
For  when  they  shall  say,  Peace  and  safety ;  then  sudden 
destruction  cometh  upon  them,  as  travail  upon  a  woman  with 
child;  and  they  shall  not  escape.''  And  this  passage  leads  us 
to  the  more  detailed  account  of  the  resurrection  (1  Cor.  15), 
wfhere  the  apostle  says:  "But  now  is  Christ  risen  from  the 
dead,  and  become  the  first  fruits  of  them  that  slept.  For  since 
by  man  came  death,  by  man  came  also  the  resurrection  of  th'C 
dead.  For  as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be 
made  alive.  But  every  mam  ini  his  own  order ;  Christ  the  first 
priest;  afterwards  they  that  are  Christ's  at  His  coming;"  and 
after  some  further  reasoning  and  explanation  he  sums  up  the 
whole  by  a  description  of  the  resurrection  similar  to  that  w'hich 
he  had  given  to  the  Thessolonian  Church:  "Now,  this  I  say, 
brethreni,  that  flesh  and  hlood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of 
God;  neither  doth  corruption  inherit  incorruption.  Behold,  I 
show  you  a  mystery ;  we  shall  not  all  sleep,  but  we  shall  all  be 
changed.  In  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the  last 
trump:  for  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  sihall  be 
raised  incorruptihle,  and  we  shall  be  changed."  The  judgment, 
so  frequently  spoken  of  in  the  epistle,  must  be  referred  to  the 
same  glorious  advent :  "But  why  dost  thou  judge  thy  'brethren? 
or  why  dost  thou  set  at  nought  thy  brother?  for  we  shall  all 
stand  before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ.  For  it  is  written. 
As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  every  knee  shall  bow  to  me  and  every 
tongue  shall  confess  to  God.  So  then  every  one  of  us  shall 
give  account  of  himself  tO'  God."  "For  we  must  all  appear 
before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ;  that  every  one  may  receive 
the  things  done  in  his  body  according  to  that  he  hath  done, 
whether  it  be  good  or  bad."  The  Apostle  Peter  connects  the 
day  of  judgment  with  "the  perdition  of  ungodly  men."  And 
this  mention  of  the  perdition  of  the  wicked  leads  us  to  that 
terrific  description  of  the  same  awful  catastrophe  in  3  Thess. 
1,  6-10:  "Seeing  it  is  a  righteous  thing  with  God  to  recompense 


FIRST  AND  SECOND  ADVENTS  OF  CHRIST.  559 

tribulation'  to  them  that  trouble  you ;  and  to  you  who  are 
troiibledi  rest  with  us,  when  the  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed 
from  heaven  with  His  mighty  angels  in  flaming  fire  taking  ven- 
geance on  them  that  know  not  God,  and  that  obey  not  the  Gos- 
pel of  our  Lord'  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall  be  punished  with  ever- 
lasting destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  and  from 
the  glory  of  His  power;  when  He  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in 
His  saints,  and  tO'  be  admired  in  all  them  that  believe  (because 
our  testimony  among  you  was  beheved)  in  that  day."  The 
flaming  fire  here  mentioned  again  connects  this  passage  with 
the  passage  already  cited  from  Ps.  1  andi  also  with  2  Pet.  3. 
"But  the  heavens  and  the  earth  which  are  now.  by  the  same 
word  are  kept  in  store,  reserved  unto  fire  against  the  day  of 
judgment  and  perdition  of  ungodly  men.  But  the  day  of  the 
Lord  will  come  as  a  thief  in  the  night ;  in  the  which  the  heavens 
shall  pass  away  with  a  great  noise,  and  the  elemenits  shall  melt 
with  fervent  heat,  the  earth  also  and  the  works  that  are  therein 
shall  be  burned  up.  Seeing  then  that  all  these  things  shall  be 
dissolved,  what  manner  O'f  persons  ought  ye  to  be  iu'  holy  con- 
versation and  godliness  looking  for  and  hasting  unto  the  com- 
ing of  the  day  of  God,  whereas  the  heavens  being  on  fire  shall 
be  dissolved,  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat? 
Nevertheless  we.  according  to  His  promise,  look  for  new 
heavens  and  a  new  earth  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness." 

All  these  passages  of  the  New  Testament  are  so  interwoven 
as  evidently  to  refer  to  the  same  event — ^the  second  coming  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  is  called  the  "day  of  the  Lord," 
the  great  day  of  the  Lord  "the  day  of  Jesus  Christ,"  "the  day 
of  God,"  the  "great  day  of  judgment,"  and  sometimes  simply, 
'"that  day,"  all  of  which  expressions  are  proved  beyond  dispute 
to  refer  to  the  same  event  by  one  or  other  of  the  same  transac- 
tions or  characteristics  being  connected  with  them. 

From  all  this  then  it  appears  that  Christ  shall  come  suddenly. 
and  by  the  world  unexpectedly,  but  visibly  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven  with  all  His  saints  and  holy  angels,  accompanied  with 
flaming  fire,  and  the  great  sound  of  a  trumpet — that  men  shall 
be  raised  from  the  dead.  The  righteous  shall  then  be  wel- 
comed to  the  kingdom  and  to  the  mansion.s  prepared  for  them ; 


560  I^IRST  AND  SE^COND  ADVENTS  OF  CHRIST. 

and  the  wicked  "driven  away  in  their  wickediness,"  with  the 
devil  and  his  angels  into  the  everlasting  fire  prepared  for  them. 

That — ^the  heavens  and  the  earth  that  now  are  shall  be  dis- 
solved by  fire,  and  their  elements  melted  with  fervent  heat. 

That — a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth'  shall  arise  v.-herein 
shall  dwell  righteousness. 

That — Christ  shall  in  the  body  in  which  He  rose  from  the 
dead,  reign  on  that  new  earth  over  all  His  redeemed  p^eople, 
and  they  shall  see  His  face,  not  then  as  through  a  glass  darkly, 
but  face  to  face;  they  shall  see  even  as  they  are  seeni,  and  shall 
be  perfectly  like  to  Him,  when  they  shall  see  Him  as  He  is. 
They  shall  be  equal  unto  the  angels,  nay,  shall  judge  angels, 
and  shall  be  kings  and  priests  unto  God  for  ever. 

This  is  the  salvation  of  Christ's  people, the  prize  of  their  high 
calling  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ  towards  which  they  are  to  press, 
if  by  any  means  they  may  attain  unto  the  blessed  and  glorious 
resurrection  of  the  dead.  (Phil.  3.)  And  it  is  for  this  that 
they  are  to  look,  to  watch,  to  wait,  to  pray;  it  is  towards  this 
they  are  to  hasten;  and  it  is  this  they  are  to  rejoice  in.  and  to 
love,  for  "Blessed  are  all  they  that  love  His  appearing." 


DISCOURSE  TWO. 
Hebrews  ix  :  27,  28. 

And  as  it  is  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  but  after  this  the  judgment ; 
so  Christ  was  once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many  ;  and  unto  them  that 
look  for  Him  shall  He  appear  the  second  time  without  sin  unto  salvation. 

In  the  preceding  discourse  from  this  passage  I  said  nothing 
of  certain  prophecies  conveyed  in  visions  accompanied  with 
hints  for  the  interpretation  of  them,  which  are  to  be  found  in 
various  parts  of  Scripture,  but  chiefly  in  the  Book  of  Daniel, 
and  in  the  Book  of  Revelation.  I  have  not  by  omitting  all 
reference  to  these  books  intended  to  throw  any  disrespect  on 
the  study  of  the  prophecies  contained  in  them ;  for  a  blessing 
is  pronounced  upon  those  who  read  or  hear  them,  and  keep 
those  things  that  are  written  in  them.  But  to  understand  them 
aright,  we  must  understand  their  place  in  the  system  of 
revealed  truth,  and  learn  to  keep  them  in  their  proper  place. 
To  ascertain  what  that  place  is  I  ofifer  the  following  observa- 
tions : 


I^IRST  AND  SECOND  ADVENTS  OF  CHRIST.  561 

1.  The  events  symbolized  in  the  prophetical  visions  are  to  take 
place  on  this  earth,  before  the  second  coming  of  the  Lord; 
and,  consequently,  in  the  present  imperfect  state  of  man. 
Daniel  commences  his  prophecies  with  the  reign  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, and  the  state  of  the  church  in  his  own  day,  and  carries 
them  down  to  what  is  manifestly  the  day  of  judgment.  "I 
beheld  till  the  thrones  were  cast  down,  and  the  ancient  of  days 
did  sit,  whose  garment  was  white  as  snow,  and  the  hair  of  his 
head  like  the  pure  wool :  his  throne  was  like  the  fiery  flame, 
and  his  wheels  as  burning  fire.  A  fiery  stream  issued  and 
came  forth  from  before  him :  thousand  thousands  ministered 
unto  him,  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  stood  before  him : 
the  judgment  was  set,  and  the  books  were  opened.  I  beheld 
then  because  of  the  voice  of  the  great  words  which  the  horn 
spake.  I  beheld  even  till  the  beast  was  slain,  and  his  body 
destroyed,  and  given  to  the  burning  flame.  As  concerning  the 
rest  of  the  beasts,  they  had  their  dominion  taken  away:  yet 
their  lives  were  prolonged  for  a  season  and  time.  I  saw  in 
the  night  visions,  and,  behold,  one  like  the  son  of  man  came 
with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  came  to  the  ancient  of  days, 
and  they  brought  him  near  before  him.  And  there  was  given 
him  dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom  that  all  people, 
nations  and  languages,  should  serve  him;  his  dominion  is  an 
everlasting  dominion,  which  shall  not  pass  away,  and  his  king- 
dom that  which  shall  not  be  destroyed." — (Dan.  7:9,  14.) 
John  begins  his  historical  visions  with  the  going  forth  of  a 
personage  on  a  white  horse,  conquering  and  to  conquer ;  which, 
from  a  subsequent  repetition  of  the  same  symbol,  evidently 
signifies  the  going  forth  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  by  His  word  and 
spirit,  to  bring  the  last  great  empire,  the  Roman  empire,  into 
subjection  to  His  law — and  he  also  concludes  with  the  day  of 
judgment,  and  the  final  and  eternal  blessedness  of  those  whose 
names  are  written  in  the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life,  and  the  final 
exclusion  of  all  others  from  the  holy  city,  the  New  Jerusalem, 
and  their  everlasting  destruction  from  the  presence  of  the 
Lord.  All  other  events,  therefore,  that  are  symbolized  in  the 
prophecies,  precede  the  day  of  judgment,  and  belong  to  our 
present  imperfect  state. 

3G— Vol.  X. 


562  FIRST  AND  SECOND  ADVENTS  OF  CHRIST. 

2.  From  this  it  follows  that  none  of  these  events  can  be 
proposed  to  us  as  objects  of  faith  or  hope,  because,  ever  since 
the  first  coming  of  Christ,  the  church  has  been  explicitly  taught 
that,  in  this  preparatory  state,  she  has  no  inheritance;  that 
she  is  to  look  for  nothing  here,  but  tribulation;  that  she  has 
no  continuing  city,  but  that  she  is  to  look  for  a  city,  whose 
builder  and  maker  is  God ;  that  God's  people  are  here  as  dead, 
their  life  being  hid  with  Christ  in  God,  and  that  when  He 
appears  (not  till  then)  they  shall  appear  with  Him  in  glory. 

Now,  the  experience  of  the  church,  in  all  ages,  has  proved 
that  these  prophecies  cannot  be  applied  to  particular  events  till 
the  events  themselves  come  to  explain  them.  In  no  age  have 
the  most  intelligent  and  learned,  of  the  disciples  of  Christ, 
formed,  from  the  prophecies,  any  conception  even  approaching 
to  truth,  of  events  to  them  yet  future ;  nay,  the  application  of 
them  to  events  past,  is,  till  the  present  day,  involved  in  much 
dispute  and  uncertainty,  even  among  genuine  disciples  of 
Christ. 

It  may  be  asked,  then,  why  should  we  study  these  prophecies 
and  what  is  the  use  of  them,  if  we  cannot  hope  to  discern  with 
certainty  the  events  which  they  symbolize? 

I  answer,  this  is  not  the  intended  use  of  them,  and  they 
would  occupy  an  important  place  in  the  Bible,  although  we 
should  never  be  able,  by  means  of  them,  to  foresee  any  future 
event,  or  even  to  apply  them  to  past  events.  For  the  char- 
acter of  the  events  is  clearly  expressed  in  the  symbols,  although 
there  is  difficulty  in  applying  each  symbol  to  its  proper  event. 
The  symbols  clearly  distinguish  calamity  from  peace  and  pros- 
perity, wickedness  from  holiness,  the  displeasure  of  God  from 
His  favor.  The  great  essentials  of  the  events  of  the  world's 
history  are,  therefore,  clearly  indicated  in  the  character  of  the 
successive  symbolical  visions.  And,  taken  together,  they 
present  a  dim,  shadowy,  hazy  scene,  as  looming  through  vapor 
and  smoke,  of  a  world  in  confusion — the  sun  and  moon 
obscured,  stars  faUing  from  heaven,  mountains  torn  from  their 
roots  and  cast  into  the  sea ;  floods  and  furious  tempests  roaring 
and  devastating;  fire,  blood  and  smoke,  huge  spectral  forms 
of  monstrous  beasts  and  unclean  spirits  rising  up  in  the  gloom, 
ravaging  and  destroying,  and  deceiving  the  wretched  men  that 


FIRST  AND  SECOND  ADVENTS  OF  CHRIST.  563 

appear  in  these  scenes ;  all  the  powers  of  evil,  led  on  by  Satan, 
the  great  dragon,  deluding  and  tormenting  and  destroying  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth ;  God  contending  with  them  from 
heaven  by  thunders,  and  lightnings,  and  hail ;  hideous  counte- 
nances distorted  with  agony,  gnawing  their  tongues  with  pain, 
and  blaspheming  the  God  of  heaven,  looking  out  from  the 
gloom  and  shrieks  of  horror  and  despair  rising  up  from  the 
midst  of  the  wild  uproar, — but  these  terrific  scenes  occasion- 
ally interrupted  by  scenes  of  surpassing  beauty  and  loveliness ; 
gleams  of  sunshine  falling  upon  gentle  flocks  and  sheep  feed- 
ing and  reposing  on  luxuriant  meadows,  beside  still  waters; 
companies  of  the  saints  of  God  assembled  on  His  holy  mount ; 
glorious  vistas  into  heaven ;  innumerable  multitudes  of  holy 
angels  and  redeemed  spirits  of  the  just,  clothed  in  white  robes 
and  palms  in  their  hands;  sounds  of  sweetest  melody  wafted 
to  ear,  and  mingled  harmony  of  ten  thousand  harps,  and  ten 
thousand  times  ten  thousand  ecstatic  voices  singing  the  high 
praises  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb,  rising  and  swelling  and  filling 
the  whole  vault  of  heaven. 

And  just  such  has  been  the  world's  history — a  continued 
scene  of  confusion ;  one  wave  of  conquest  and  rapine  and 
devastation  following  another ;  bloody  tyrannical  empires  rising 
one  after  another,  each  upon  the  destruction  of  its  prede- 
cessor— massacres,  conflagrations,  treacheries,  dark  idolatries, 
mystical  abominations,  persecutions  of  the  people  of  God- 
but  these  m.ingled  with  occasional  peace  and  joy — God's  people 
living  under  His  protection,  going  forth  in  His  service,  extend- 
ing His  kingdom,  singing  His  praises,  and  rejoicing  in  His 
presence  and  favor.  And  the  lifting  of  the  veil  from  futurity, 
so  far  as  to  enable  us  to  form  some  conception  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  events,  dim  as  might  be,  that  were  to  constitute 
the  world's  history — was  calculated  to  effect  many  important 
purposes — to  sustain  the  faith  of  the  church  in  the  most 
calamitous  times,  to  keep  alive  the  hope  of  the  people  of  God 
in  the  midst  of  outward  ruin  and  destruction — to  satisfy  them 
that  God  was  working  in  and  through  all  events,  and  conduct- 
ing all  to  a  great  and  glorious  consummation — to  forewarn 
them  of  the  devices  and  strategems  of  the  enemy — especially, 
it  was  claiming  the  whole  history  of  the  world  as  a  revelation 


564  FIRST  AND  SECOND  ADVENTS  OF  CHRIST. 

of  the  power,  and  wisdom,  and  holiness,  and  justice,  and 
mercy  of  God,  by  showing  that  all  was  foreknown  to  Him 
and  appointed  by  Him,  and  that  all  would  be  made  subservient 
to  His  glory,  and  to  the  final,  eternal  happiness  of  His 
redeemed  people. 

It  is  doubtless,  therefore,  our  duty  and  our  privilege  to  study 
these  prophecies,  that  we  may  be  prepared  for  whatever  agita- 
tions and  revelations  we  may  be  called  to  witness,  or  be 
involved  in,  and  that  we  may  be  able  to  look  forward  with 
confidence  to  the  end  of  the  world's  eventful  history  in  the 
coming  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  effect  the  restitution  of  all 
things.  But  we  ought  carefully  to  keep  the  results  of  such 
studies  in  their  own  place — as  certainties,  indeed,  in  regard  to 
the  general  character  of  the  events,  good  or  evil,  of  which  the 
world's  history  is  to  consist,  till  the  time  of  the  end,  but  merely 
as  possible  or  probable  conjectures  in  regard  to  times  and 
places,  and  even  in  regard  to  the  precise  nature  of  the  good 
or  evil  indicated  by  them ;  and  especially  we  should  take  heed 
never  to  permit  such  conjectures  to  interfere  with  the  great 
fundamental  truths  of  Christianity — the  first  and  second 
advents  of  the  Redeemer. 

A  view  of  the  future  history  of  the  world  has  of  late  years 
been  much  pressed  upon  the  christian  church  by  some  esti- 
mable men,  which  is  formed  by  an  admixture  of  the  plain 
promises  of  the  Word  of  God  with  certain  interpretations  of 
the  symbolical  prophecies,  which,  I  confess,  seems  to  me  to 
endanger  the  whole  fabric  of  Christianity.  This  view  is,  that, 
previous  to  Christ's  coming  to  judgment,  there  is  to  be  a  mil- 
lennium, or  thousand  years,  at  the  commencement  of  which 
Christ  will  come,  and  during  which  He  will  dwell  personally — 
that  is,  bodily  on  the  earth — when  His  saints  that  have  died 
shall  be  raised  from  the  dead,  and  reign  with  Him,  while  other 
men  shall  be  living  in  their  natural  bodies  upon  the  earth  along 
with  them ;  that  there  will  be  an  apostasy  after  this  millennium 
and  then  the  day  of  judgment;  and  some  who  hold  this  view 
place  the  conflagration  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth  previous 
to  the  millennium ;  while  others,  I  believe,  postpone  it  to  the 
day  of  judgment. 


FIRST  AND  SECOND  ADVENTS  OF  CHRIST.  565 

The  only  passage  in  Scripture  on  which  the  expectation  of 
a  millennium,  or  thousand  years  of  spiritual  prosperity,  is 
founded,  is  in  Rev.  20  :  1-10  : 

"And  I  saw  an  angel  come  down  from  heaven,  having  the 
key  of  the  bottomless  pit,  and  a  great  chain  in  his  hand,  and 
he  laid  hold  of  the  dragon,  that  old  serpent,  which  is  the  Devil 
and  Satan,  and  bound  him  a  thousand  years,  and  cast  him  into 
the  bottomless  pit,  and  shut  him  up,  and  set  a  seal  upon  him, 
that  he  should  deceive  the  nations  no  more,  till  the  thousand 
years  should  be  fulfilled;  and  after  that  he  must  be  loosed 
for  a  little  season.  And  I  saw  thrones,  and  they  sat  upon 
them,  and  judgment  was  given  unto  them,  and  I  saw  the  souls 
of  them  that  were  beheaded,  for  the  witness  of  Jesus,  and 
for  the  Word  of  God,  and  which  had  not  worshipped  the 
beast,  neither  his  image,  neither  had  received  his  mark  upon 
their  foreheads,  nor  in  their  hands ;  and  they  lived  and  reigned 
with  Christ  a  thousand  years.  But  the  rest  of  the  dead  lived 
not  again  until  the  thousand  years  were  finished.  This  is  the 
first  resurrection.  Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in  the 
first  resurrection :  on  such  the  second  death  hath  no  power, 
but  they  shall  be  priests  of  God  and  of  Christ,  and  shall  reign 
with  Him  a  thousand  years.  And  when  the  thousand  years 
are  expired  Satan  shall  be  loosed  out  of  his  prison,  and  shall 
go  forth  to  deceive  the  nations  which  are  in  the  four  quarters 
of  the  earth,  Gog  and  Magog,  to  gather  them  together  to  battle, 
the  number  of  whom  is  as  the  sand  of  the  sea.  And  they  went 
up  on  the  breadth  of  the  earth  and  compassed  the  camp  of 
the  saints  about,  and  the  beloved  city,  and  fire  came  down 
from  God  out  of  heaven,  and  devoured  them.  And  the  devil 
that  deceived  them  was  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone 
where  the  beast  and  false  prophet  are,  and  shall  be  tormented 
day  and  night  for  ever  and  ever." 

It  is  very  extraordinary  that  round  this  solitary  symbolical 
announcement  of  a  thousand  years,  during  which  Satan  is  to 
be  bound  in  the  bottomless  pit,  have  been  congregated  almost 
every  promise  of  external  glory  contained  either  in  the  Old 
or  New  Testament,  and  a  period  of  blessedness  has  thus  been 
held  up,  during  the  present  transitory,  imperfect,  sinful  state 
of  man,  which  has  to  a  fearful  extent  been  made  to  obscure 


566  FIRST  AND  SE;C0ND  ADVENTS  OF  CHRIST. 

the  great  promise  to  which  the  faith  of  the  church  has  been 
directed  in  all  ages,  and  on  which  the  hope  of  every  individual 
member  of  the  church  rests;  namely,  the  eternal  separation  of 
the  righteous  from  the  wicked,  the  destruction  of  Satan,  the 
abolition  of  death,  and  the  everlasting  peace  and  joy  of  all 
God's  people  in  the  presence  of  God,  and  the  restitution  of  all 
things — all  to  be  affected  by  the  second  coming  of  Christ  to 
judgment. 

On  this  passage  I  would  observe : 

1.  That  the  events  predicted  in  it,  whatever  they  may  be,  are 
previous  to  the  coming  of  Christ  for  judgment,  because  the 
account  of  the  day  of  judgment  immediately  follows  as  part 
of  the  same  vision.  The  events  then  symbolized  in  this 
prophecy,  belong  to  our  present  imperfect  condition,  and, 
therefore,  cannot  be  propounded  as  promises — that  is,  as 
objects  of  faith ;  nor  ought  they  ever  to  be  confounded  with 
that  event  which,  throughout  the  whole  of  Scripture,  is  held 
out  as  the  great  object  of  the  faith  and  hope  of  the  church — 
the  second  coming  of  Christ,  and  the  literal  resurrection  of  all 
the  dead. 

2.  It  is  to  be  remembered,  that  this  passage  is  a  symbolical 
vision,  and  that,  before  we  can  decipher  it,  we  must  ascertain 
what  the  symbols  import.  The  essential  characters  of  the 
events  pointed  at  in  these  symbols,  their  being  good  or  evil, 
are  sufficiently  distinct ;  but  when  an  attempt  is  made,  by  means 
of  the  symbols,  to  ascertain  more  exactly  what,  and  where, 
and  when,  and  how  the  events  will  be,  then  the  symbols  must 
be  interpreted ;  and  the  interpretation  of  every  one  of  them 
requires  research,  and  is  involved  in  doubt  and  uncertainty. 
And  it  appears  to  me  to  be  rash  and  hazardous  in  the  extreme, 
to  involve  the  very  essentials  of  Christianity,  the  very  cardinal 
points  of  its  doctrine,  in  the  obscurity  and  uncertainty  of  such 
inquiries.  Keep  the  symbolical  prophecies  apart  from  the 
plain  declarations  of  Scripture  presented  to  our  faith,  and  the 
revelation  of  God's  purposes  is  clear  as  light — a  child  may 
understand  and  believe  it;  intermingle  these  prophecies  with 
the  plain  declarations  of  Scripture,  and  the  whole  instantly 
becomes  vague,  indistinct  and  dubious. 


FIRST  AND  SECOND  ADVENTS  OF  CHRIST.  567 

In  short,  my  brethren,  we  know  that  the  coming  of  Christ, 
in  His  power  and  majesty,  the  renovation  of  the  earth,  the 
resurrection  of  the  saints  in  glory,  the  judging  of  the  quick 
and  the  dead,  and  the  final  destruction  of  the  wicked,  are 
promises  plainly  announced  in  the  direct  declarations  of 
Scripture,  and,  therefore,  certainties;  but  the  events  previous 
to  these  being  indicated  only  by  symbolical  visions  of  difficult 
interpretation,  can  assume  no  higher  a  place  than  conjecture. 

I  cannot  participate  in  the  dark  and  gloomy  apprehensions, 
which  the  course  of  events  and  the  stream  of  prophecy  suggest 
to  the  minds  of  many  holy  and  spiritual  men.  I  see  the  Word 
of  God  rising  in  influence  and  authority,  dispersed  among  all 
nations.  I  see  the  gospel  of  the  Lord  going  forth  to  every 
land,  and  thousands  bowing  down  before  it — the  isles  of  the 
heathen  beginning  to  worship  Him,  Ethiopia  stretching  out 
her  hands  to  Him.  I  see  the  idolatry  of  India  reehng  under 
the  power  of  God's  word,  and  tottering  to  its  foundation.  I 
see  the  three  hundred  and  sixty  millions  of  the  Chinese 
empire,  who  had  been,  for  century  after  century,  shut  up  from 
all  intercourse  with  christians,  thrown  open  to  the  zeal  and 
enterprise  of  the  servants  of  the  Lord.  I  see  the  props  of  the 
man  of  sin  giving  way,  and  a  spirit  in  vigorous  operation, 
which  threatens  to  bring  down  his  artfully  conducted  system 
to  the  dust — not  indeed  the  spirit  of  God,  but  a  spirit  inciting 
men  to  hate  the  mother  of  harlots,  and  make  her  desolate  and 
naked,  and  burn  her  flesh  with  fire.  I  see,  it  is  true,  powerful 
efforts  made  to  sustain  the  antiquated  and  haggard  abomina- 
tion. I  do  hope,  therefore,  that  He  whose  name  is  the  Word 
of  God,  who  hath  on  His  vesture  and  on  His  thigh  a  name 
written,  "King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords,"  has  already  begun 
to  go  forth  on  His  white  horse  to  smite  the  nations  with  the 
sword  that  goeth  out  of  his  mouth,  and  to  rule  them  with  a 
rod  of  iron.  We  may  also  hope  soon  to  see  the  efifects  of  the 
binding  up  of  Satan  and  the  commencement  of  a  thousand 
years  of  extension,  and  peace,  and  joy  to  the  church,  and  of 
life  "from  the  dead"  to  the  world,  such  as  it  has  never  experi- 
enced from  the  beginning  till  the  present  day. 

Let  God's  faithful  servants  be  found  at  their  post,  waiting 
for  their  Lord,  more  than  they  that  watch  for  the  morning — I 


568  FIRST  AND  SliCOND  ADVENTS  OF  CHRIST. 

say  more  than  they  that  watch  for  the  morning.  Let  them 
not  permit  their  hearts  to  be  benumbed  in  Christ's  service  by 
any  apprehension  that  nothing  effectual  is  to  be  done  till  Christ 
Himself  shall  appear  in  the  flesh.  Had  such  an  apprehension 
taken  possession  of  the  church  at  the  first  going  forth  of  the 
gospel,  or  before  the  Reformation,  those  great  revivals  would 
never  have  shone  upon  the  world.  There  is  power  in  the  ordi- 
nary means  of  conversion,  the  ministration  of  the  truth  of 
God  by  His  people,  accompanied  by  the  outpouring  of  the 
spirit  of  God,  to  effect  greater  things  than  the  world  has  yet 
witnessed.  And  all  that  is  implied  in  a  millennial  prosperity 
may  be  accomplished  by  them,  and  yet  the  honor  be  reserved 
to  Christ  Himself  at  His  coming  to  destroy  Satan,  and  all 
evil,  to  restore  all  things,  and  to  introduce  His  people  not  to 
a  temporary,  but  to  an  eternal  state  of  glory  and  felicity  in  His 
presence. 


Christ's  Sufferings  a  Proof 
of  Atonement 


A  DISCOURSE 

BY  THE 

Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 
Oharleston,  S.  C. 


CHRIST'S   SUFFERINGS   A  PROOF  OF 
ATONEMENT. 


3  Cor.  5:21. 

For  He  hath  made  Him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin  ;  that  we  might 
be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Him. 

1.  There  is  in  this  declaration  of  the  apostle,  which  is  given 
as  the  all-sufficient  reason  why  sinners  sihoiild  be  reconciled  to 
God,  a  plain  and  evident  antethesis.  Christ  is  made  sin — we 
are  made  righteousness.  Christ  is  made  sin  for  us — we  are 
made  rig'hteousness  in  Him.  Christ  knew  no  sin  and  yet  was 
made  sin — we  who  are  also  sinful  and  defiled  are  made  right- 
eousness itself.  God  made  Christ  sin  for  us ; — we  are  made 
the  righteousness  of  God  in  Him.  For  He  (/.  c,  God)  hath 
made  Him  sin. 

By  understanding,  therefore,  the  first  part  of  the  sentence 
we  will  also  understand  the  last,  so  that  if  it  can  be  determined 
in  what  way  Christ  was  made  sin  it  may  also  be  understood 
how  we  also  are  made  righteous.  Let  us,  therefore,  inquire 
how,  or  in  what  way,  Christ  was  made  sin  for  us. 

2.  That  in  some  clear  and  determinate  sense  Christ  was  made 
sin  for  sinners  is  a  fact  here  and  elsewhere  very  explicitly 
declared.  Christ  was  made  sin  not  by  a  mere  fictitious  suppo- 
sition, but  really  and  truly.  "For  God  bath  made  Him  to  be 
sin  for  us."  "The  Lord  hath  laid  on  Him  the  iniquity  of  us 
all."  "He  was  numbered  with  the  transgressors  and  He  bare 
the  sin  of  many."  "Christ  was  made  a  curse  for  us,  being 
once  ofifered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many." 

3.  Now  Christ  could  not  be  made  sin  for  us  by  having  our 
sins,  the  sins  of  the  human  race,  personally  transferred  to  Him, 
so  as  that  personally  and  in  His  own  moral  character  He  was 
constituted  a  sinner.  Such  a  supposition  is  repelled  by  the 
apostle  who  affirms  that  "He  knew  no  sin,"  a  phrase  denoting 
"the  perfectly  holy  and  righteous,"  or,  as  Meophylact  explains 
it,  "righteousness  itself."  He  was  not  only  in  His  original 
nature  without  sin,  but  He  was  as  man  bom  without  sin — and 
He  continued  without  sin  being  holy,  harmless,  undefiled  and 
separate  from  sinners.     Besides   such  a  transference  of   the 


574        Christ's  sufferings  a  proof  of  atonement. 

moral  character  of  one  man  is  in  the  very  nature  of  things 
impossible  and  absurd.  And  could  we  imagine  Christ  to  have 
really  assumed  the  inherent  personal  sinfulness  of  those  for 
wthom  He  sufifered,  then,  of  course,  what  He  endured  at  the 
hands  of  the  law  would  have  been  endured  in  consequence  of 
His  personal  guilt ;  and  what  He  did  in  obedience  to  the  law 
could  procure  a  character  of  righteousness  only  for  Himself. 
But  He  was  not  made  sin  so  as  to  be  Himself  sinful,  for,  says 
the  apostle,  "He  knew  no  sin." 

4.  Christ  was  made  sin  in  whatever  way,  not  for  Himself, 
not  for  His  own  benefit  or  advantage,  nor  yet  for,  or  on  account 
of  His  own  personal  guilt — but  "for  us," — ^that  is,  for  us  sin- 
ners— for  the  lost — the  ungodly — the  rebellious  outcasts  of 
this  evil  and  wicked  world.  He  was  the  propitiation  for  our 
sins,  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world.  Not  that  He  was  thus  made  sin  for  every  man  indi- 
vidually since  all  are  not  thus  universally  made  the  righteous- 
ness of  God  in  Him.  But  He  was  made  sin  for  us,  that  is,  "the 
many,"  of  whom  the  apostle  speaks  in  his  Epistle  to  the 
Romans  (Ch.  5th) — the  "every  one  that  believeth"  and  for 
whom  He  is  declared^  to  be  the  "end  of  the  law"  (Rom.  10  :4)  ; 
the  "us"  to  whom  He  is  also  said  to  be  made  of  God  wisdom, 
righteousness,  and  sanctification  and  complete  redemption. 
In  short,  by  the  "us"  here  is  to  be  understood  the  church 
which  Christ  loved  and  for  which  He  gave  Himself,  "that 
He  might  present  it  to  Himself  a  glorious  church,  not 
having  spot  or  wrinkle  or  any  such  thing"  (Eph.  5:27.)  He 
was  made  sin  for  all  those  of  whom  as  His  body  He  became  the 
head — of  whom  as  His  soldiers  He  became  the  captain  of  sal- 
vation— for  whom  as  debtors  He  was  an  accepted  surety — for 
whom  as  guilty  and  condemned  He  was  a  received  siibstitute, 
and  for  whom  as  lost  He  was  exalted  to  be  a  Prince  of  Salva- 
tion. 

5.  For  these,  as  many  and  whosoever  they  be,  whether 
already  redeemed,  or  now  wending  their  way  through  great 
tribulation,  or  yet  to  enter  upon  this  pilgrimage  of  woe,  for  all 
those  who  are  included  under  the  term  "us"  Christ  made 
"sin."  For  them  He  assumed  the  office  of  Mediator.  For 
them  in  the  fulness  of  time  He  was  manifest  in  the  flesh.     For 


Christ's  sufferings  a  proof  of  atonement.        575 

them  He  magnified  and  fulfilled  the  law,  by  a  perfect  a-nd  unfal- 
tering obedience  to  every  tittle  of  its  requisitions.  For  them 
He  endured  the  penalty  which  that  law  inflicted  on  the  guilty 
violator  of  its  holy,  just  and  true  enactments.  As  under  the 
law  the  sin  offering  was  reckoned  or  accounted  to  have  the  sins 
of  the  people  put  upon  it,  as  if  it  stood  chargeable  for  all  the 
guilt  of  the  whole  congregation ;  so'  Christ  was  made  sin  for  us. 
The  Redeemer  assumed  our  guilt.  He  became  answerable  at  the 
bar  of  God  for  all  demands  against  His  chosen  people,  the 
whole  family  in  heaven  and  on-  earth  who  constitute  the  true 
Israel.  He  was,  therefore,  under  obligation  to  render  all  this 
obedience  and  to  endure  all  this  suffering,  not  on  His  own 
account,  but  for  us.  The  sin  with  which  He  was  chargeable 
was  not  His  but  ours,  not  ours  in  its  personal  character,  but  in 
our  legal  obligation  to  endure  the  penal  inflictions  of  a  violated 
law.  He  was  not  made  sin  in  His  own  nature  or  person  or 
character,  but  only  legally,  in  law  and  as  our  Surety.  When 
God  laid  on  Him  the  iniquities  of  us  all.  He  did  not  infuse  into 
Him  the  pollution  wherewith  those  iniquities  have  defiled  us. 
God  held  Him  answerable  to  His;  holy  law  for  all  the  claims 
that  law  advanced  against  these  guilty  rebels ;  but  in  thus 
becoming  liable  to  their  punishment  Christ  was  in  no  way  con- 
taminated by  their  inherent  turpitude  and  vileness.  A  man 
may  very  plainly  offer  himself  as  a  substitute  for  another, 
either  to  the  law  as  demanding  his  punishment,  or  to  a  creditor 
as  requiring  payment — without  being  at  all  chargeable  with 
either  disobedience  or  dishonesty.  In  the  one  case  the  punish- 
ment and  in  the  other  case  the  debt,  are  accounted  his — so  that 
he,  w^hile  in  himself  innocent  of  the  crime  and  free  from  the 
debt  is  yet  required  to  endure  the  punishment  and  meet  the 
demand.  And  in  like  mamier  Christ,  though  He  knew  no  sin, 
yet  by  becoming  a  Mediator  for  those  who  were  sinners,  was 
on  their  account  chargeable  with  sin ;  and  was  on  their  account 
required  to  obey,  and  to  suffer  to  the  very  uttermost  what  infi- 
nite justice  required. 

6.  This  arrangement  whereby  Christ  became  the  substitute 
for  sinners  and  God  accepted  Him  as  such,  originated  alto- 
gether with  the  Sovereign  mercy  of  God.  "He  made  Him 
(that  is  Christ)  to  be  sin  for  us." 


576        Christ's  sufferings  a  proof  of  atonement. 

We  who  through  this  plan  of  salvation  are  redeemed  from 
the  guilt  and  misery  of  sin,  could  never  (by  any  possibility  have 
done  any  thing  whatever  towards  the  accomplishment  of  this 
great  salvation.  For  when  man  fell  the  Son  of  God  was  not 
incarnate,  neither  could  it  have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to 
conceive  the  possibility  of  that  which  even  as  it  has  been;  mani- 
festedi — is  a  mystery  beyond  the  full  comprehension  of  men  or 
angels.  Neither  could  it  have  been  ever  determined  by  futile 
reason  whether  it  was  suitable  to  the  glory  of  God  as  ruler  of 
the  universe  to  spare  a  guilty  race  on  any  terms  whatever,  while 
such  is  the  working  of  sin  as  to  indispose  the  mind  to  any 
thoughts  of  reconciliation  or  forgiveness,  although  they  ai'e 
urged  upon  its  attention. 

And  as  it  was  thus  utterly  impossible  that  this  plan  of  saving 
mercy  could  ever  have  originated  with  the  wisdom  or  goodness 
of  man  it  is  not  less  plain  that  it  could  never  have  been  carried 
into  effect  without  the  mutual  willingness  of  God  the  Father 
and  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  God  as  the  Supreme  law- 
giver of  the  universe  could  alone  decide  whether  the  execution 
of  the  sentence  of  the  law  upon  the  persons  of  the  offenders 
could  be  dispensed  with — for  the  purpose  of  receiving  satisfac- 
tion on  their  account  from  another  substitute  in  their  place. 
Christ  alone  as  God  and  as  being  thus  able  to  dispose  of  Him- 
self by  right  of  infinite  power,  could  offer  Himself  as  a  Surety 
for  such,  be  competent  to  treat  with  God  on  their  behalf,  possess 
such  exaltation  and  dignity  as  to  give  to  His  humiliation,  suf- 
ferings and  death,  a  meritorious  value  sufificient  to  make  atone- 
ment for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world;  while  God  the  Holy 
Ghost  alone  could  freely  consent  to^  co-operate  in  the  further- 
ance of  this  great  design  by  applying  its  benefits  tOi  the  hearts 
of  men.  It  was,  therefore,  in  the  counsels  of  eternity  and  in 
foreknowledge  of  man's  apostasy  and  fall  that  this  covenant  of 
grace  was  entered  into  by  the  persons  in  the  ever  glorious 
Trinity.  And  it  was  when  Christ  had  voluntarily  offered  to 
assume  this  office  of  Mediator — He  was  made  sin  for  us — ^our 
sins  were  imputed  to  Him — reckoned  as  His  in  their  guilt  and 
ill  desert.  So  that  He  was  amenable  for  them  to  the  bar  of 
God's  righteous  and  holy  law. 


Christ's  sufferings  a  proof  of  atonement.         577 

7.  This  xvliole  scheme  of  nian's  redeiiiptioin.  is  the  offspring 
of  God's  unanoved  and.  Sovereign  mercy — ^the  comtinuance  of 
His  infinite  wisdom  and  the  determination  of  His  Sovereign 
pleasure.  He  willed  not  to  impute  unto  us  our  iniquities,  but 
to  impute  them  unto  Christ  who  was  most  graciously  pleased 
to  have  them  laid  upon  Him  by  His  own  free  and  full  consent, 
(Heb.  10:5-10.)  While,  therefore,  God  was  absolutely  Sover- 
eign in  willing  that  a  substitute  should  take  the  place  of  sinners 
yet  when  Christ  bad  offered  Himself  to  do  the  will  of  God,  it 
was  just  and  righteous  in  God  and  in  no  way  injurious  to  Christ 
to  lay  our  iniquities  upon  the  Saviour  that  through  Him  the 
glory  of  the  divine  perfections  might  be  manifested  in  the 
remission  of  our  sins. 

As  sin  involves  the  sinner  in  guilt  that  is  a  just  liability  to 
threatened  punishment — the  word  is  therefore  used  to  express 
guilt  or  liability  to  punishment  as  well  as  the  offence  itself. 
In  this  sense  God  made  Christ  to  be  sin  for  us  while  He  knew 
no  sin.  He  was  not  made  sin  inherently  so  as  to  be  a  sinner 
personally,  but  He  was  made  sin  in  its  guilt,  He  having  become 
responsible  to  the  law  of  God  for  the  sins  of  men,  and  He  was 
made  sin  by  enduring  that  amount  of  suffering  which  was 
received  by  God  as  a  full  equivalent  to  the  demands  which 
justice  had  against  them.  The  guilt  of  sin  is  one  thing  and 
this  Christ  did  not  and  could  not  bear  nor  can  it  ever  be  done 
away  or  removed.  The  sins  of  God's  people  will  ever  remain 
sins,  and,  in  themselves  considered,  worthy  of  endless  punish- 
ment. But  the  guilt  of  sinners  or  their  personal  liability  to  all 
the  consequences  of  their  sins  is  another  thing  and  this  can  be 
transferred  and  was  transferred  to  Christ  when  He  was  made 
sin  for  us.  He  suffered  and  died  "for  our  sins"  and  "for  our 
offences,"  "the  just  for  the  unjust."  (1  Cor.  15:3;  Gal.  1:4; 
1  Pet.  3:18.)  He  died  a  ransom  tO'  procure  deliverance  for 
sinners  as  perishing  captives  (Math.  20:28;  1  Tim.  2:6),  He 
offered  up  Himself  as  a  sin  expiating  sacrifice  that  He  might 
"purge  our  sins  by  Himself"  and  "put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice 
of  Himself."  (Eph.  5:2;  Rom.  3:26  and  5:11.)  He  thus 
"bore  the  sins  of  many,"  "His  ownself  has  our  sins  in  His 
own  body  on  the  tree"  (1  Pet.  2:24), 

37— Vol.  X, 


578        Christ's  sufferings  a  proof  of  atonement. 

The  foundation  of  this  imputation  to  Christ  of  the  sins  of  His 
people,  lies  in  that  relation  to  them  which  he  voluntarily  sus- 
tained— being  politically  or  forensically  or  in  the  eye  of  the 
law  the  head  and  representative  of  all  for  whom  He  died.  By 
virtue  of  this  moral  or  federal  oonnexion,  between'  Christ  and 
His  seed  and  which  He  most  freely  assumed  God  as  the  Sover- 
eign Lawgiver  ascribed  to  Him  their  iniquities  and  determined 
to  deal  with  Him  as  amenable  for  all  the  guilty  thereby 
incurred. 

8.  Such,  then,  is  the  doctrine  of  imputation  as  it  is  here  laid 
down  in  reference  to  Christ  as  the  substitute  for  sinners.  And 
to  those  who  understand  in  what  way  God  made  Christ  to  be 
sin  for  us  while  He  knew  no  sin,  there  will  be  no  difificulty  in 
comprehending  also  how  it  is  that  we  while  altogether  defiled 
with  sin  are  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Him.  For  just 
as  by  imputation  Christ  had  transferred  to  Him,  not  the  moral 
pollution,  but  the  legal  liabilities  of  His  people,  so  is  there  reck- 
oned to  the  account  of  His  people  when  they  are  united  to  Him 
iby  faith  not  the  inherent  glory  of  Christ's  righteousness,  but 
its  meritoriousness  and  all-sufficiency  to  satisfy  the  claims  of 
God's  holy  and  righteous  law.  As  by  the  act  of  imputation  no 
one  ever  thought  that  Christ  became  internally  sinful  and  pol- 
luted, but  only  guilty  or  liable  to  the  punishment  due  to  sinners ; 
neither  does  any  orthodox  believer  nor  any  sane  mind  imagine 
that  by  that  act  of  imputation  helievers  become  inherently  pos- 
sessed with  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  but  only  this  that  lacing 
regarded  by  God  and  His  law  as  one  of  those  for  whom  Christ 
rendered  that  pure  and  spotless  righteousness  they  are  freed 
from  that  punishment  which  they  must  otherwise  have  borne — 
their  sins  are  pardoned^ — their  persons  are  accepted — and  they 
are  made  partakers  of  all  the  benefits  of  Christ's  death.  By 
imputation  alone  there  can  be  wrought  within  the  heart  no 
change  whatever.  It  can  affect  only  the  external  and  legal 
relations  of  the  party  concerned,  and  thus  Christ  became  guilty 
while  holy,  and  the  sinner,  as  far  as  this  act  alone  is  concerned!, 
becomes  justified  or  righteous  in  law  while  unholy  in  his  own 
person.     Imputation  alone  neither  pollutes  nor  does  it  sanctify. 

9.  Just  in  the  same  manner,  therefore,  as  Christ  by  the 
imputation  of  our  sins  to  His  account  was  made  in  the  eyes  of 


Christ's  sufferings  a  proof  of  atonement.        579 

the  law  sini  for  us — so,  also,  by  having  the  merit  of  Christ's 
whole  work  of  mediation'  accouniled  ours,  by  Christ's  interposi- 
tion' on  our  behalf  and  by  His  own  act  of  princely  favour,  we 
also  are  made  or  constituted  righteous.  That  righteousness 
which  is  in  this  way  reckoned  to  ours,  is  called  the  righteousness 
of  God.  It  is  so  as  it  regards  God  the  Father  inasmuch  as  the 
wihole  plan  by  which  it  has  been  wrought  out  is  of  His  con- 
trivance and  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  His  will,  and 
also  because  it  has  been  accepted  by  Him  as  all-sufficient  and 
is  bestowed  by  Him  as  His  own  free  gift  on  every  soul  which 
He  adopts  into  His  heavenly  family. 

But  it  is  further  the  righteousness  of  God  because  Christ 
as  truly  and  properly  God,  in  the  amazing  condescension  of  His 
infinite  mercy  as  our  Emmanuel,  perfected  it  for  us.  As  man 
Christ  was  the  subject  of  this  righteousness,  being  thus  made 
under  the  law  that  He  might  render  unto  it  in  the  very  nature 
that  had  secured  a  holy  and  tmspotted  obedience.  But  it  was 
as  that  nature  subsisted  in  union  with  His  divinity  this  right- 
eousness became  the  righteousness  of  God  and  Christ  "Jehovah 
our  righteousness."  The  value  and  merit  which  are  attributed 
to  this  righteousness,  arise  altogether  from  the  fact  of  the  infi- 
nite dignity  and  glory  of  the  person  by  whom  it  was  rendered. 

It  is  also  demonstrated  the  righteousness  of  God  becauSiC  the 
benefits  purohased  by  it  are  applied  to  the  heart  of  the  believer 
by  the  divine  agency  of  God  the  Holy  Ghost. 

We  are  not,  therefore,  to  understand  by  these  words  any 
attri'bute  of  Deity — nor  any  quality  imparted  by  the  Deity  to 
the  renewed  mind — nor  yet  Christ  Himself  as  some  of  the 
fathers  supposed — but  that  righteousness  of  Christ  as  the  Surety 
or  Substitute  for  sinners  by  wihich  alone  any  son  or  daughter 
of  the  ruined  family  of  man  ever  can  be  regarded  as  righteous 
before  God.  "Christ  is  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness 
to  every  one  that  believeth"  (Rom.  10:4)  being  ma;de  unto 
them  of  God  wisdom  and  righteousness. 

10.  Now.  as  Christ  for  us  or  as  our  legal  representative  and 
head  was  made  or  conistituted  or  regarded  as  guilty  on  account 
of  OUT  sins  which  were  imputed  to  Him;  so  are  we  made,  coni- 
stituted or  esteemed  righteous  in  God's  sight,  the  righteousness 
of  Christ  being  imputed  to  us.     As  our  sins  became  legally  the 


580        Christ's  sufferings  a  proof  of  atonement. 

sins  of  Christ,  being  laid  upon  Him  as  our  responsible  head ;  so 
is  His  righteousness  made  legally  ours  being  regarded  as 
extending  by  His  express  stipulation  and  desire  to  us.  Just  as 
our  sins  were  not  the  sins  Oif  Christ  subjectively,  but  only 
imputatively,  so  is  His  righteousness  so  made  ours,  not  inhe- 
rently, but  by  an  act  of  mercy.  We  are  rendered  holy  by  the 
conveyance  oi  grace  into  our  souls  by  the  working  of  the  Holy 
Spirit;  but  we  are  made  just,  or  are  justified  before  God,  by 
the  imputation  of  Christ's  righteousness  to  our  persons.  This 
righteousness  never  becomes  ours  so  as  to  be  within  us,  for  it 
must  everlastingly  remain  in  and  with  Christ,  even  as  our  sins 
never  were  Christ's  so  as  to  be  in  Him.  but  must  abide  eter- 
nally as  our  own.  God,  therefore,  does  not  judge  falsely  in 
this  matter,  as  it  is  slanderously  reported  that  we  affirm,  but  He 
judges  righteous  judgment,  attributing  this  righteousness  meri- 
toriously only  to  Christ  its  author,  and  attributing  it  to  us,  only 
by  His  own  gracious  imputation,  and  the  free  gift  of  I  lis 
infinite  mercy. 

11.  For  it  is  further  to  be  observed  that  we  are  thus  mace 
the  righteonsness  of  God  as  it  is  here  distinctly  stated  not  in 
ourselves,  nor  by  ourselves  nor  through  any  power,  ability  or 
willingness  of  ours,  but  only  as  we  are  regarded  by  God  "in 
Him."  We  are  accepted  by  God  as  righteous  persons — 
accounted  and  pronounced  guiltless — and  have  that  righteous- 
ness of  Christ  which  is  without  works  imputed  to  us,  only  when 
God  regards  us  in  Christ.  These  words  may  be  tran'slatcd 
either  in  Him,  by  Him  or  through  Him  and  they  are  in  each 
of  these  senses  equally  instructive  and  important. 

T'hey  who  are  justified  are  made  or  accounted  righteous  "in 
the  beloved"  (Eph.  1:16).  Surely  shall  one  say,  "In  Jehovah 
have  I  righteousness  and  strength."  (Is.  45,  IT,  24,  25.)  It 
is  by  virtue  of  our  relation  to  Christ  and  our  mystical  oneness 
with  Him  as  our  covenant  representative  and  head,  that  our 
sins  could  be  justly  imputed  tO'  Him  while  without  iniquity  or 
His  righteousness  be  imputed  to  us  while  without  works.  God 
in  that  most  gracious  decree  by  which  He  determined  not  to 
inilict  u]x>n.  our  entire  fallen  race  the  merited  sentenee  of  eter- 
nal death,  chose  the  willing  anrl'  freely  ofifered  Redeemer  to  be 
the   head   or   representative,    the    substitute   and    ransom    for 


Christ's  sufferings  a  proof  of  atonement.        581 

the  church,  the  church  comprising  all  who  s'hall  be  finally 
saved  to  be  His  body.  The  everlasting  covenant  was  thus 
made  with  Christ  as  Head  and  with  the  elect  in  Him,  as  His 
seed.  The  blessings  which  flow  from  that  covenant  are  there- 
fore bestowed  only  upon  such  as  are  in  Him  (Eph.  1 :3) .  And 
this  union  which  in  covenant  or  decree  existed  from  etermity, 
is  the  fountain)  spring  from  which  issue  all  the  streams  of 
salvation.  By  this  mystical  union  Christ  and  His  people  are 
oriic  in  this  whole  matter  of  salvation.  As  mediator  He  repre- 
sented them  and  acted  for  them  and  on  their  be^half.  Thus  as 
in  the  first  Adam  as  our  head  all  died  and  have  imputed  to  them 
the  guilt  of  his  first  act  of  disobedience,  so  they  who  are  in 
Christ  the  second  Adam  as  their  head  have  the  merit  of  His 
obedience^ — which  is  infinite — imputed  to  them.  As  in  Adam 
we  are  all  condemned  so  in  Christ  are  we  justified. 

But  it  is  also'  true  that  they  who  are  justified  or  made  right- 
eous are  justified  by  Christ,  or  as  it  is  more  fully  expressed  "by 
the  faith  of  Christ"  (Gal.  2:17).  "by  His  blood"  (Rom.  5:9). 
"by  His  obedience"  (Rom.  5:1-8)  and  "by  His  stripes."  (1 
Pet.  2:24.)  We  are  thus  taught  that  a  sinner  is  justified  by 
receiving  Christ  as  ofifered  in  the  gospel  and  resting  upon  Him 
solely  for  acceptance  with  God  as  having  rendered  all  that  satis- 
faction and  reuidered  all  that  penalty  wbich  law  and  justice 
demanded  fromi  Him  as  the  substitute  for  sinners. 

Christ  as  the  sufifering,  dying  Saviour,  and  as  having  by  His 
obedience  unto  death,  made  reconciliation  and  atonement, 
between  God  and  them  for  whom  He  thus  interposed — this  is 
the  object  of  justifying  faith' — "the  faith  of  Jesus"  or  "the  faith 
of  the  Son  of  God  as  of  one  who  loved  us  and  gave  Himself 
for  us."     (Rom.  3:22;  Gal.  2:16  and  3:22,  &c.) 

Nor  is  it  less  important  or  true  that  this  condition  of  justifi- 
cation or  righteousness,  becomes  ours  through  Christ.  It  is 
for  His  sake,  as  the  meritorious  Author  of  it,  and  as  its  gra- 
cious procurer,  this  great  blessing  is  bestowed  upon  us.  The 
blood  of  Christ  or  His  obedience  unto  death  is  not  only  the 
meritorious  ground  of  our  justification,  but  His  actual,  present 
action  of  that  righteousness  before  God  and  His  most  gracious 
intercession-  on  our  behalf, — constitute  the  procuring  cause 
through  which  the  purchased  blessing  is  actually  made  over  to 


682        Christ's  sufferings  a  proof  of  atonement. 

us  and  becomes  ours  lin  possession  as  it  had  previously  been 
ours  by  right  as  being  in  Him  and  one  with  Him.  "In  whom  we 
have  redemption  through  His  blood,"  (Eph.  1:7;  Col.  1:14), 
"being  justified  freely,  by  His  grace,  through  the  redemption 
that  is  in  Christ  Jesus."     ( Rom.  3  :24. ) 

The  legal  ground,  therefore,  of  a  sinner's  justification  is  his 
union  to  Christ.  The  meritorious  ground  of  a  sinner's  justi- 
fication, by  which  it  is  actually  procured  in  the  intercession  of 
Christ,  and  the  instrumental  ground  or  cause  of  justification 
is  the  actual  reception  of  Christ,  as  His  righteousness,  by  the 
sinner.  To  him  who  thus  believes  on  Christ — who  thus  comes 
unto  God  through  Christ — and  who  is  thus  found  to  be  in 
Christ — Christ  is  made  to  he  sin  for  Him  who  knew  no  sin  that 
He  may  be  made  the  righteousness  oi  God  in  Him. 

Had  Calvin  himself  worded  this  passage  he  could  not  have 
possibly  expressed  in  the  same  compass,  or  in  a  more  emphatic 
manner  those  peculiar  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  which  have  been 
falsely  called  Calvinism  by  those  who  would  pervert  the  gospel 
of  the  grace  of  God  and  accommodate  it  to  the  wisdom  and  cor- 
ruption of  man.  Here  is  the  doctrine  of  absolute  and  divine 
Sovereignty,  "For  He,  God,  hath  made  Him."  Here  is  the 
doctrine  of  election,  "For  He  made  Him  to  be  sin  for  us." 
Here  is  the  doctrine  of  imputation,  "For  He  made  Him  to  be 
sin  for  us  who  knew  no  sin."  Here  is  the  doctrine  of  a  free, 
gratuitous  and  forensic  justification,  "that  we  might  be  made 
the  righteousness  of  God  in  Him."  Here  also  is  the  doctrine 
of  human  inability  in  all  its  comprehension.  He  was  made 
sin  for  us  and  we  are  made  righteous  iui  Him.  Here  is  the 
doctrine  of  a  special  in  opposition  to  a  general  atonciment  and 
of  a  particular  in  contrast  to  a  general  redemption,  For  us 
that  we — ^in  Him — are  made  righteous.  Here  is  the  doc- 
trine of  effectual  calling,  For  we  are  made  righteous — and 
in  and  through  and  by  Him.  As  well  might  you  attempt  to  blot 
the  sun  from  heaven  and  yet  retain  its  light,  as  to  expel  what 
is  most  falsely  denominated  Calvinism  or  Presbyterianism  from 
the  Bible,  and  yet  preserve  the  light  of  that  glory  with  whicli 
it  shines  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.  These  doctrines  radiate 
from  every  part  of  it.  They  shine  through  it.  They  are 
inseparable  from  any  part  of  it.     They  gild  the  sacred  page — 


Christ's  sufferings  a  proof  of  atonement.         583 

they  speak  forth  the  glory  of  Godi  their  author  and  oi  Christ 
their  subject  and  their  theme,  and  they  consititute  the  only  true 
and  sufficient  ground  of  hope  towards  God  and  confident  assur- 
ance in  the  prospect  of  death,  hell,  judgment  and  eternity. 

Many  of  you,  perhaps,  have  listened  to  those  tirades  which 
ignorant  presumption  and  self-righteous  conceit,  pour  forth 
from  the  profaned  sacred  desk  against  the  doctrine  of  imputa- 
tion and  especially  as  it  regards  the  free  justification  of  the 
sinner  through  the  imputed  righteousness  of  Ghrist.  There  is 
no  conceivable  or  horrible  consequence  which  has  not  by  such 
persons  been  most  slanderously  charged  upon  this  doctrine  of 
the  grace  of  Go'd  as  equally  unholy,  ungodly,  unrighteous  and 
licentious. 

My  'brethren,  you  have  now  before  you  a  calm,  deliberate, 
full  and  candid  exhibition  of  that  doctrine.  And  is  there  not 
every  thing  in  it  to  proclaim  the  glory,  the  wisdom,  the  purity, 
the  Sovereignty,  and  the  grace  of  God?  And  while  it  thus 
speaks  forth  the  glory  of  God  in  the  very  highest  does  it  not 
afford  to  the  guilty  sinner  a  most  solid  ground  of  believing 
hope  and  strong  consolation?  Or  can  you  conceive  any  motive 
by  which  the  ihun^n  heart  can  be  swayed  so  powerful  to  coi> 
strain  it  to  a  holy  obedience,  as  the  thought  that  it  is  united  to 
Christ  and  that  to  secure  righteousness  Christ  was  even  made 
sin,  that  "he  who  hath  this  hope  in  him  might  purify  ihimself 
even  as  Christ  was  pure?" 

It  is  said,  indeed,  that  this  doctrine  charges  God  with  injus- 
tice and  cruelty — ^that  it  makes  the  sinner  as  righteous  as  God 
Himself — ^and  that  it  is  altogether  absurd.  But  you  will  per- 
ceive by  the  very  statement  O'f  the  doctrine  that  these  conse- 
quences are  iniferred  not  from  our  doctrine  which  is  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Bible,  but  from  a  gross  and  wilful  or  most  ignorant 
caricature.  We  do  not  say  as  these  affimi  that  God  arbitrarily 
required  Christ  to  become  our  Mediator,  for  the  nature  of 
Christ's  substitution  consists  in  its  spontaneity  and  God  only 
accepted  His  gracious  ofit'er.  We  do  not  say  that  God  punished 
Christ  while  innocent — but  as  voluntarily  a  Surety  in  the  place 
of  guilty  and  rebellious  men.  We  do  not  say  God  executed  on 
Christ  the  penalty  of  that  awful  curse  which  He  was  made  for 
us  through  a  spirit  of  vindictive  wrath — ^but  through  a  spirit  of 


584        Christ's  sufferings  a  proof  of  atonement. 

mercy  to  mankiod,  as  the  only  way  in  which  that  mercy  could  be 
executed  consistently  with  His  holiness  and  His  justice,  and 
while  He  at  the  very  time  rejoiced  over  His  well  beloved  Son 
with  infinite  and  Godlike  complacency.  We  do  not  say  that 
Christ  was  made  a  sinner  in  any  sense  which  implies  internal 
pollution  or  crime — but  that  He  undertook  to  bear  the  punish- 
menit  which  was  due  to-  the  guilt  of  men.  We  do  not  say  that  we 
receive  personally  the  personal  righteousness  of  Christ,  rather 
that  we  are  justified  by  virtue  of  that  righteousness,  as  still  in 
Christ  and  inseparably  His,  but  imputed  tO'  us  as  represented  in 
Him  and  united  to  Him  by  faith.  We  do  not  say  that  this 
imputation  of  Christ's  righteousness  constitutes  the  whole  of  a 
sinner's  salvation,  but  that  it  is  the  alo^ne  ground  of  a  sinner's 
justification.  We  assert,  on  the  contrary,  that  wherever  and 
whenever  a  sinner  is  justified  he  is  at  the  same  time  regener- 
ated. W'here  this  righteousness  is  imputed,  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
imparted.  Where  a  man  is  made  righteous  in  Christ  he  is  also 
made  righteous  by  Christ.  He  that  is  declared  righteous  foren- 
sically  receives  a  righteousness  inherently.  For  just  as  cer- 
tainly as  Christ  is  made  unto  us  of  God  righteousness  He  is  also 
made  unto  us  wisdom.  "Whom  God  justifies  them  He  also 
glorified.* 

Before  concluding  let  me  add  a  few  words : 

It  has  been  said  that  there  is  no  difference  in  our  doctrinal 
views  between  the  Old  School  and  the  New  School.  Now, , 
while  I  believe  there  are  those  who  do  not  reject  the  most 
essential  doctrines,  yet  this  is  far  from  being  the  case  with 
the  large  body  of  those  called  New  School  or  Constitutional 
Presbyterians. 

Tihat  this  is  so  I  would  illustrate  by  a  reference  to  the  doc- 
trine of  imputation  which  we  have  beeni  discussing,  and  which 
is  the  same  whether  we  regard  Adam  and  his  sin  or  Christ  and 
His  righteousness^ — ^the  one  being  the  counteipart  of  the  other. 

Now,  in  a  series  of  papers  by  Dr.  Cox,  he  speaks  of  this  doc- 
trine wihich  is  expressly  contained  in  our  confession  of  faith  in 
the  following  terms. 

In  No.  XXV  ihe  speaks  O'f  it  as  "this  technical  monster.'' 
Again  as  "a  monstrous  oibstruction  to  the  prevalence  of  chris- 

*Rom.  8:30. 


Christ's  suffer) n(;s  a  proof  of  atonement.         585 

tianity,  an<l  a  maker  of  infidel  alieniatiorn,  we  know  that  it  is 
not  all  that  they  and'  their  allies  can  dio,  that  will  keep  up  the 
tottering  and  ignohle  fabric.  It  must  fall,  it  must  die,  it  must 
be  initelligently  scorned  and  exploded  by  the  American  people. 
It  ha^  helped  to  murder  souls  quite  enough  already.  It  revolts 
the  conscience  of  the  universe.  It  is  inicapable  of  being  cor- 
dially approved  in  heaven.,  even  if  this  were  practicable  to 
genuine  piety  on  earth.  Its  doom  is  predicted  and  written  in 
Matt.  XV.  lo,  and  the  signs  of  the  times  indicate  the  speedy 
execution." 

Again,  let  us  then  hold  this  doctrine  up  to  the  light  of  heaven, 
and  let  men  look  at  it,  and  see  if  an3'  ingenuity,  or  any  refuta- 
tion of  ours,  is  necessary,  to  insure  for  it  the  scorn  of  con- 
science, and  the  abhorrence  of  piety,  every  where!  We  pro- 
nounce it  in  its  own  ugliness  a  monster  in  the  Church  of  God. 
"The  infliction"  of  t'he  curse  of  the  law,  which  "is  of  all  evils 
the  essence  and  the  sum,"  on  every  one  of  the  ithousands  of 
millions  of  our  species,  before  they  have  committed  sins  of  any 
kind,  and  "antecedent  to  them  all!"  Oh!  the  supersensuous 
and  transcendental  glories  of  Princetonian  orthodoxy ! 

We  doubt  if  more  base  unrighteousness  was  ever  expressed 
in  human  language !  And  such  an  infinitude  of  a  quantity  of 
it!     And  all  this  is  the  piety  and  the  orthodoxy  of  Princeton! 

In  reference  to  Adam,  says  Dr.  Hodge,  "his  act  was,  in  virtue 
of  this  relation,  [as  federal  head.]  regarded  as  our  act."  That 
is,  the  act  or  the  sin  of  Adam,  zvas,  by  some  hocus  pocus  of 
eternal  iniquity,  set  absolutely  to  the  account  of  each  one  of  his 
posterity,  "antecedent,"  to  any  sin  of  theirs.  So  that,  in  the 
order  of  nature,  of  judgment,  and  of  fact,  this  is  the  established 
system  of  the  King  of  righteousness. 

So,  also,  in  No.  XXVI,  he  says : 

"Federal  headship  on  this  theory  is  a  most  arbitrary  thing.  It 
is  a  kind  of  wholesale  gambling  w^ith  the  destinies  of  the  uni- 
verse. It  is  the  toss  of  a  copper — ithe  wrong  side  up — and  a 
lost  world !" 

Again,  in  XXV : 

"The  method  of  reasoning,  called  reductio  ad  absurdum,  by 
which  we  sihovv  the  falsity  of  any  principle  by  exposing  the  false 
or  absurd  results  to  which  it  legitimately  leads  us,  is  surely  as 


586        Christ's  sufferings  a  proof  of  atonement. 

sound  in  itself  as  it  is  plainly  applicable  here.  And  the  man, 
who  can  look  at  only  a  few  of  the  radiations,  which,  spreading 
in  rectilinears  from  such  a  centre,  fill  with  lurid  horrors  the  vast 
circumference  of  its  depending  circle,  and  calmly  continue  to 
hold  the  doctrine,  the  principium  et  fons  'of  all  evils  the 
essence  and  the  sum,'  is,  we  seriously  fear,  hardened  in  a  mis- 
eraible  insensibilitiy  to  the  difiference  between  truth  and  its  coun- 
terfeits. Such  a  bosom,  as  its  owner  seems  to  possess,  is  neces- 
sarily obtuse,  as  the  angles  of  the  hexagon,  where  'his  ratiocina- 
tions 

Are  prison'd  in  a  dark  six-corner'd  box, 
Sealed  from  the  sun  and  labeled — orthodox." 

But  it  has  also  been  said  that  this  difference  of  theological 
views  is  conifined  to  our  own  church  which  has  been'  held  up  on 
this  account  as  quarrelling  about  uncorrupt  truth. 

But  the  truth  is  there  is  just  as  wide  a  difference  between  all 
that  portion  of  the  Episcopal  Church  called  High  Church  and 
those  who  favor  the  Oxford  Tract  System,  and  that  portion 
which  is  called  Low  Church  or  EvangeHcal. 


Christ  Our  Righteousness 


A  SERMON 

BY  THE 

Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 
Charleston',  S.  C. 


CHRIST  OUR  RIGHTEOUSNESS, 


1  Cor.  1 :30. 

Who  of  God  is  made  unto  us  righteousness. 

This  passage  of  God's  glorious  Gospel  holds  forth  to  man 
that  perfect  chain  of  salvation,  which  was  completed  by  Christ, 
and  by  holding  on  to  wihich  the  most  needy  and  perishing  sinner 
may  be  rescued  from  the  yawning  gulf  of  perdition.  There  is 
here  a  most  striking  epitome  of  the  Gospel — a  summary  of  that 
good  news  which  it  proclaims  from  heaven — an  exhibition  of 
the  plan  by  which  peace  is  to  be  restored  to  the  outlawed  and 
rebellious  race  of  man,  while  the  glory  of  God  is  maintained  in 
its  highest  possible  perfection. 

The  merciful  adaptation  of  the  provisions  of  the  gospel  to 
the  present  condition  of  man  as  he  lies  hopelessly  buried  under 
the  ruins  of  the  apostasy  is  here  most  explicitly  unfolded.  By 
that  direful  apostasy  from  God  man  is  now  blinded  by  sin, — 
being  darkened  in  his  understanding  so  that  the  natural  man 
canmot  understand  either  the  reality  of  this  his  miserable  degra- 
dation— or  appreciate  that  infinite  and  amazing  love  which  has 
interposed  for  his  deliverance.  Christ,  therefore,  is  made  unto 
them  to  whom  it  is  given  to  believe  upon'  His  name — wisdom. 

But,  when  thus  enlightened  to  discern  the  holiness,  of  God 
and  the  unholiness  of  his  own  heart,  the  sinner  is  made  conr- 
scious  of  his  utter  unfitness  to  stand  in  judgment  at  the  tribunal 
of  God's  holy  and  righteous  law — Christ,  therefore,  is  made 
unto  him  righteousness. 

And  when  the  eyes  of  his  mind  are  opened  so  that  the  guilty 
sinner  perceives  his  spiritual  nakedness  and  defilement,  and 
feels  within  him  the  hateful  power  of  vile  corruption;  then 
too  is  Christ  of  God  made  unto  that  polluted  sinner — sanctifi- 
cation. 

While  in  this  world  of  sin — in  this  body  of  death — and 
exposed  to  the  snares  of  the  devil — the  sinner  even,  when  thus 
enlightened,  justified  and  sanctified,  even  while  ihe  waits  for  the 
adoption  of  sons  and  stands  fast  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God^ — 
groans,  being  hindered  by  the  oppressive  weight  of  sin ; — carries 


592  CHRIST    OUR    RIGHTEOUSNESS. 

about  with  him  a  body  of  death  and  feels  within  him  the  strug- 
gling efforts  of  the  old  man.  Christ,  therefore,  is  made  to 
every  believer  at  the  hour  of  bis  departure  complete  redemp- 
tion. By  virtue  of  the  ransom  He  has  given  He  then  procures 
for  them  a  full  salvation  from  all  sin',  perfect  maturity  in  all 
holiness,  and  an  abuindant  entrance  into  all  blessedness. 

Now,  since  it  is  revealed  to  us  that  all  the  steps  of  this  won- 
drous plan  are  subjects  of  adoring  contemplation  even  to  the 
angelic  host; — ^since  throughout  an-  endless  eternity  it  will 
afford  happiness  to  the  redeemed  to  search  deeper  into  this 
mystery  of  godliness — it  may  well  be  aui  occupation  of  interest 
and  deligbt  to  the  people  of  God  in  this  twilight  hour  of  antici- 
pated rest,  to  spend  the  time  of  their  brief  sojourn  iui  endeav- 
oring to  comprehend  more  of  the  length  and  breadth,  the  height 
and  the  depth  of  the  love  of  God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Let  us,  therefore,  who  are  now  assembled  for  the  purpose  of 
worshipping  Almighty  God,  and  of  stirring  up  each  other's 
minds  to  worthier  thoughts  of  Him  and  of  His  merciful  deal- 
ings with  the  children  of  men,  take  up  one  of  the  links  of  this 
golden  chain,  beaten  out  by  bands  divine,  radiant  with  mercy ; 
that  we  may  be  stirred  up  to  magnify  and  to  bless  Ilis  holy 
name  for  the  unspeakable  gift. 

Christ  is  of  God — made  unto  us  righteousness — let  this  be 
the  subject  of  our  present  meditation. 

Christ  is  here  declared  to  be  actually  made  what  God  by  the 
mouth  of  His  holy  prophets  foretold  He  should  become. 
When  this  Prince  of  Peace  stood  revealed  before  the  prophetic 
vision  of  the  predestined  Seer  oi  Anathoth,  it  was  given'  him  in 
that  hour  to  announce  that  "this  is  the  name  whereby  He  shall 
be  called' — 'The  Lord  our  Righteousness.'  "  He  who  is  our 
Righteousness  is  The  Lord,  that  is  Jehovah,  God  over  all  and 
blessed  for  ever.  This  Jehovah  is  inade  God^ — constituted  and 
appointed  by  Him — our  Righteousness.  Tihis  righteousness  is 
by  the  gift  of  God  made  ours.  And  in  view  of  the  inconceiv- 
able importance  of  this  provision  on  our  behalf  Christ  is  named 
"The  Lord  our  Righteousness." 

L  That  you  may  be  led  to  a  true  understanding  of  that  glori- 
ous doctrine  which  is  here  asserted  I  will,  as  a  foundation  upon 
which  to  build  the  argument  of  the  apostle,  establish  the  abso- 


CHRIST   OUR    RIGHTEOUSNESS.  593 

lute  Ti'ccessity  to  the  salvation  of  the  sinner,  of  some  righteous- 
ness without  and  beyond  himself. 

This  necessity  arises  from  the  fact  that  man  has  no  inherent 
righteousness  of  his  own.  and  no  power  or  ability  to  create  or 
fas'hioni  it  within  him.  Now,  verily,  there  is  a  God  who 
judgeth  in  the  earth.  He  is  not  a  God  who  hath  pleasure  in 
wickedness,  neither  shall  evil  dwell  with  Him.  The  foolish 
shall  not  stand  in  His  sight.  He  hateth  all  the  workers  of 
iniquity.  Justice  and  judgment  are  the  very  habitation  of  His 
throne. 

Such,  then,  is  that  God  with  whom  we  have  to  do,  before 
whom  we  must  all  stand  ini  judgment,  who  will  render  to  every 
man  according  to  his  deeds,  and  who  will  by  no  means  clear  the 
guilty. 

Let  us  inquire^ — what  must  ere  long  be  reality — that  yon 
stand  impleaded  at  His  bar.  that  you  there  confront  His  dread 
majesty  as  He  sits  upon  His  throne  with  the  book  of  His  law 
opened  before  Him.  Let  us  imagine  that  God  addressed  you 
as  He  once  did  Job:  "Gird  up  now  thy  loins  like  a  man;  for  I 
will  demand  of  thee  and  answer  thou  me."  "I  created  thee 
with  powers  and  capacities  fitting  thee  to  glorify  and  enjoy  me 
for  ever ;  wherefore  hast  thou  loved  and  served  the  creature 
and  disihonoured  Me  who  art  thy  Creator?  I  sent  my  only 
begotten  Son  into  the  world  that  by  believing  upon  Him  and 
obeying  His  voice  thou  mightest  have  everlasting  life;  where- 
fore hast  thou  neglected  this  great  salvation,  trampled  under 
foot  the  ofifers  of  mercy,  and  done  despite  to  my  Holy  and 
ever  blessed  Spirit?  What  canst  thou  answer  for  all  this 
ungodliness  which  thou  bast  so  ungodlily  committed  in  living 
without  God  and  as  an  Atheist  in  that  world  where  I  gave  thee 
an  opportunity  of  seeking  everlasting  life." 

If  innocent  as  you  sometimes  think  you  are,  if  strong  as  you 
iinagine  in  the  confidence  of  mercy — why,  my  fellow  sinners, 
at  the  voice  of  this  dread  challenge  does  your  heart  tremble 
and  shrink  within  you  ?  Why  that  "certain  fearful  looking  for 
of  judgment  and  of  fiery  indigmation  ?"  Why  afraid  at  the 
voice  of  God  calling,  "Adam,  wihere  art  thou?  What  is  this 
that  thou  hast  done  ?"  "Will  not  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  do 
rightly?" 

38— Vol.  X. 


594  CHRIST    OUR   RIGHTEOUSNESS. 

Oh,  my  fellow  siiimers,  all  comfident  as  thou  now  art — ^yet 
wert  thou  ever  pure  aod  righteous  as  Job  was,  yet  like  him 
when  confronted  with  the  holy  righteous  and  omniscient 
Jehovah,  and  when  thy  most  secret  sins  shall  be  made  bare  by 
the  light  of  His  countenance,  like  Job  thou  wilt  exclaim, 
"Behold  I  am  vile,  what  shall  I  answer  thee?  I  will  lay  mine 
hand  upon  my  mouth.  I  have  heard  of  thee  by  the  hearing  of 
the  ear,  but  now  mine  eye  seeth  thee^ — wherefore  I  abhor 
myself,"  Or  like  the  guilty  and  conscience-stricken  Adam 
thou  wilt  exclaim,  "I  hear  thy  voice  and  am  afraid,  oh,  that  I 
could  hide  myself  from  thy  presence  and  fly  from  thy  judg- 
ments." 

But  such  thoughts,  thou  sinful  man,  are  vain.  Escape  is 
impossible,  for  repentance  "there  is  now  no  place  given."  You 
are  now  before  the  bar  of  God.  He  to  whom  you  here  sub- 
mitted as  your  vile  deceiver  will  (there  present  himself  as  your 
"accuser"  (Rev.  12:10).  When  the  proclamation  shall  be 
made,  "who  can  lay  anything  to  this  culprit's  charge?"  there 
shall  appear  a  host  of  witnesses  by  whose  testimony  you  will 
be  clearly  condemned.  "Your  own  heart  will  condemn  you" 
and  UTibear  all  its  treasured  secrets.  Conscience  will  utter  its 
voice  "bearing  witness  against  you."  Evil  companions  will 
"rise  up  and  bear  true  witness  againist  you."  "These  words  of 
Christ  which  are  written  in  this  blessed  Book,  these  are  they 
which  will  testify  against  you  and  condemn  you."  That  gospel 
you  have  neglected,  those  Sabbaths  you  have  profaned,  those 
warnings  you  have  slighted,  that  evidence  you  have  gainsaid 
and  resisted,  those  entreaties,  warnings  and,  commaruds  ycm  have 
set  at  naught — .these  and  other  "innumerable  witnesses" — ^shall 
rise  up  in  that  day  and  in  that  hour  and  shall  co'demn  you. 
Yea  "by  thy  own  words  thou  shalt  be  condemned,"  and  all  "thy 
hard  thoughts  and  thy  hard  speeches"  shall  bear  "swift  witness 
and  cover  thee  with  confusion." 

Nor  will  any  plea  of  what  you  have  been  and  what  you  have 
done  as  it  regards  man  avail  thee  there.  The  indictment  which 
shall  then  be  preferred  against  you  is  in  words  like  these: 
"Cursed  be  he  that  continueth  not  in  all  things  written  in  the 
words  of  God's  holy  law  to  do  them.  He  that  breaketh  one  is 
guilty  of  all." 


CHRIST   OUR   RIGHTEOUSNESS.  595 

Your  conviction  is,  therefore,  certain,  and  you  must  be 
"founid  guilty  before  God"  on  every  count  with  which  you  are 
charged;  and  sentence — even  the  irreversible  sentence  of  eter- 
nal death — must  be  pronounced  upon  you. 

Since,  therefore,  man  has  no  iniherent  righteousness  wherein 
he  may  stand  before  God  anid  be  accepted;  before  Him,  "man 
can  be  justified  before  God"  only  by  a  righteousness  external 
to  him.  Having  no  personal  wort'hiness  or  ground  of  justifi- 
cation <he  must  have  a  reputed  righteousness  or  otherwise  suffer 
the  inflicted  penalty.  Since  "all  are  gorne  out  of  the  way  and 
tihere  is  none  righteous,  no  not  one," — if  any  are  delivered  it 
must  be  by  a  righteousness  imputed:  to  them  on  account  of 
vvhicli  the  law  yields  its  demands,  being  satisfied;  and  God 
pronounces  sentence  of  acquittal.  His  justice  and  His  holiness 
being  fully  magnified. 

In  this  conclusion — in  its  righteousness  and  truth' — every 
sainit  from  Enoch  unto  the  last  ransomed  sinner — will  most 
heartily  concur.  Bring  them  all  before  us  and  they  will  with 
one  united  voice  exclaim  with  David,  "I  will  make  mention  of 
thy  rigihteousness  alone  for  in  thy  sight  no  living  being" 
(w'hetiher  angels  or  men),  "can  be  justified."  Not  unto  us, 
but  unto  thy  name,  the  Lord  our  Righteousness,  be  all  the 
praise  who  wert  made  unto  us  of  God  Righteousness  as  well 
as  Wisdom.  "Neither  is  there  any  other  oame  given  under 
heaven  or  among  men  by  which  either  angels  or  men.  may  be 
justified  iby  thy  name,  oh,  Christ  our  Lord  and  our  Redeemer." 

H.  Seeing,  therefore,  it  is  thus  plain  that  by  any  righteous- 
ness inherent  in  them  no  flesh  living  can  be  justified  in  God's 
sight  we  are  now  prepared  for  the  further  declaration  embodied 
in  the  truth  presented  by  the  apostle,  namely,  that  the  righteous- 
ness by  w'hich  a  sinner  can  be  justified  at  the  bar  of  God  can 
l>e  found  only  in  "the  Lord  our  Righteousness." 

The  righteousness  that  can  avail  to  the  acquittal  of  one  who 
"is  already  condemned"  by  God's  holy  and  righteous  law  must 
be  a  righteousness  which  is  acceptable  to  God  and  a  righteous- 
ness W'hich  is  wrought  out  by  God. 

It  must  be  acceptable  to  God  because  "it  is  against  Him  and 
Him  only  we  have  sinned  and  done  evil  in  His  sight."  His 
law  we  have  broken,  His  glory  we  have  tannished,  His  honour 


596  CHRIST   OUR   RIGHTEOUSNESS. 

w€  have  insulted,  His  justice  we  have  armed  against  us,  and  He 
must  fulfil  all  His  threatenings.  God  cannot  exert  His  power 
to  rescue  those  who  are  held  by  that  very  power  amenable  to 
His  justice.  Mercy  cannot  interpose,  for  although  she  delights 
to  succour  the  miserable  sihe  cannot  help  them  who  are  already 
convicted  of  sin  against  the  majesty  of  her  high  and  Sover- 
eign:  Lord.  The  justice  of  God  must,  therefore,  be  satisfied 
before  mercy  can  spread  her  wings  and  go  forth  mighty  to 
save.  The  scheme  of  man's  salvation  could  only  have  origi- 
nated with  God.  Hcnv  guilty  men  could  be  just  with  God  no 
finite  mind  could  possibly  determine.  Christ,  therefore,  is 
made  unto  us  of  God — Righteousness.  Christ  is  the  gift  of 
God, — the  expression  of  His  everlasting  free  and  Sovereign 
mercy, — the  forthcoming  of  that  gracious  decree  by  which 
Christ  was  given  to^  be  the  Saviour  of  the  world  being  subjected 
to  the  covenant  of  works  as  our  Head  and  Representative,  that 
by  His  mediation  and  atonement,  the  covenant  of  grace  might 
be  perfected.  Nor  was  it  until  His  work  had  been  finished 
and  God  had  accepted  it  as  well-pleasing  in  His  sight  that  "God 
could  be  just  and  yet  the  justifier  of  the  ungodly." 

This  righteousness  in  order  to  be  available  to  the  salvation  of 
the  lost  and  to  clear  the  guilty  from  the  condemnation  of  God's 
righteous  law  could  only  be  wrought  out — and^  meritoriousl)' 
oflFered  by  Him  who  is  the  Lord  Jehovah,  the  mighty  God,  and 
who  being  in  the  form  of  God  thought  it  no  robbery  to  be  equal 
with  God.  Therefore,  was  Christ  made  unto  us  of  God  Right- 
eousness because  His  name  is  the  Lord  Jehovah.  "He  hath 
made  Him  who  knew  no  sin  to  be  sin  for  us.  that  we  might  l>e 
made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Him." 

Where  else  could  this  righteousness  by  which  a  ruined  world 
might  be  redeemed  be  found  ?  Among  the  bright  and  glorious 
intelligences  of  heaven?  No,  God  "chargeth  His  angels  with 
folly  and  the  heavens  are  not  clean  in  His  sight."  Among  His 
saints  on  earth  could  we  imagine  them  to  exist,  or  among  any 
other  of  His  created  ones?  No,  for  "behold:  God  putteth  no 
trust  in  His  servants;  He  putteth  no  trust  in  His  saints,  and 
shall,  man  be  more  pure  thani  his  Maker  ?"  Shall  we  seek  this 
righteousness,  then,  which  shall  be  acceptable  to  God,  in  the 
prayers,  devotions,  penances  or  in  an^'  works  which  man  can 


CHRIST   OUR   RIGHTEOUSXESS.  597 

do?  No,  for  if  there  could  have  beem  a  law  by  whicli  we  might 
be  saved  then  would  it  have  been  given; — therefore,  "we  con- 
clude that  a  man  is  not."  ami  cannot  be  "justified  by  the  works 
of  the  law." 

No,  my  hearers,  whosoever  of  you  are  seeking  to  be  justified 
by  the  law  or  by  any  obedience  to  the  law  "ye  are  fallen  from 
grace" — "Christ  is  of  no  efifect  to  you."  "Ye  are  yet  in  your 
sins" — for  we  "are  justified  freely  by  God's  grace  tihrough  the 
redemption'  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus." 

Surely  sliall  one  say,  "In  the  Lord  have  I  righteousness  and 
.strength  ;  in  the  Lord  shall  all  the  seed  of  Israel  be  justified  and 
shall  glory."  "Our  righteousness  is  the  Lord  Jeihovah,"  He 
who  was  "God's  fellow."  As  God  He  imparts  infinite  dignity 
and  merit  to  His  incamation.,  obedience  and  death.  As  God 
He  was  able  to  bear  the  burden  of  a  world's  iniquities  and 
prove  Himself  "mighty  to  save."  As  God  He  was  with  God 
in  the  ver)^  beginning  of  eternity  when  God  planned  the  wonr- 
drous  scheme  of  mercy.  As  "God's  fellow"  He  was  then  worthy 
to  enter  into  covenant  with  Him — to  become  Surety  to  God  for 
His  redeemed  people, — to  be  made  head  over  all  things  to  His 
Church,  to  have  all  power  given  to  Him  in  heaven  and  in  earth, 
and  by  His  blood  to  confirm  and  establisfh  all  the  promises  of 
the  covenant  and  the  purposes  of  God's  grace. 

It  is  wholly  impossible  for  us  to  form  any  conception  of  the 
true  nature  and  extent  of  those  sufferings  which  Christ  endured 
as  the  Surety  of  sinners.  But  there  is  enough  made  known  to 
us  to  demonstrate  the  truth  that  they  were  of  such  a  character 
and  intensity  as  to  be  unbearable  if  even  conceivable  by  a  crea- 
ture Holy  as  Christ  was,  free  as  He  was  from  all  ground  of 
fear  or  remorse  on  any  personal  account — ^and  dear,  therefore, 
as  He  was  personally  to  His  Father  in  heaven.  Yet  even  He, 
as  man,  found  it  impossible  to  bear  up  under  the  weighty  bur- 
den of  a  world's  iniquities.  Christ's  human  nature  manifestly 
shrunk  from  the  trial  and  sunk  under  its  unutterable  terrors. 
"I  have  a  baptism  to  be  baptized  with  and  how  am  I  straitened 
till  it  ibe  accomplished."  In  the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  being 
in  agony,  and  while  the  bloody  sweat  of  death  poured  out  of 
His  tortured  body — He  cried  out:  "Father,  if  it  be  possible  let 
tlhis  cup  pass  from  me,  nevertheless  not  my  will  but  thine  be 


598  CHRIST   OUR    RIGHTEOUSNESS. 

done."  Oh,  bad  not  Ghrist  been  succoured  and  upheld  in  His 
haunanity  by  that  divinity  which  stirred  within  Him  anid  by 
which  the  angeHc  host  were  sent  to  minister  unto  Him, — the 
hopes  of  man's  salvation  would  have  been  buried  under  the 
ruins  of  man's  frail  and  finite  nature.  It  was  in  virtue  of  that 
divine  power  by  which  "He  could  lay  down  His  Hfe."  and  take 
it  up  again — ^that  "He  poured  out  His  soul  unto  death,"  and 
the  agonies  oif  crucifixion',  prayed  for  His  murderers,  pardoned 
the  dying  thief,  spake  words  of  comfort  to  His  despairing 
mother — and  then^  with  a  voice  wihich  shook  earth  to  its  centre 
and  was  echoed  back  from  heaven,  cried:  "It  is  finished!  and 
gave  up  the  Ghost."  As  man  He  died  and  thus  completed  His 
obedience  and  perfected  righteousness.  As  God  that  right- 
eousness received  the  merit  of  an  infinite  dignity  and  was  made 
sufficient  before  the  universe;  and  when  strictest  judgment 
scrutinized  the  law,  and  upiheld  its  sanctions,  to  make  atonement 
for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world.  Mercy  triumphed  over  jus- 
tice,— mercy  and  truth  met  together — righteousness  and  peace 
kissed  each  other  and  the  proclamation  again  sounded  from  the 
herald  angels,  "Glory  to  God  in  the  higihest.  On  earth  peace 
and  good  will  to  men." 

For  this  hour  was  Christ  born  and  to  accompHsh  this  did'  He 
become  man.  Could  any  created  being  or  any  mortal  man  have 
accomplished  the  work  never  would  the  Son:  of  God  have 
vacated  His  throne  of  glory;  become  a  little  lower  than  the 
angels  left  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  and  veiled  His  glory  in 
the  vile  form  of  degraded  humanity.  No,  it  was  in  the  coun- 
cils of  eternity  when  looking  forward  to  the  event  of  man's 
apostasy,  "He  saw  that  there  was  no  man,  and  wondered  that 
there  was  no  intercessor,"  that  "therefore  His  own  arm"  which 
is  "mdghty  to  save"  "brought  salvation;"  and  He  said  "Lo,  ] 
come,  and  in  the  volume  of  thy  book  it  is  written  of  me  to  do 
thy  will,  O  God." 

This  righteousness  which  consisted  in  the  immaculate  purity 
of  Christ's  nature,  His  unfailing  obedience  to  every  tittle  of  the 
law's  requirements — ^and  His  perfect  endurance  of  that  penalty 
which  the  law  had  affixed  to  transgressions  inhered  necessarily 
in  the  human  nature  of  Christ  as  its  immediate  subject,  for  it 
was  in  order  to  fit  Himself  for  such  endurance  and  for  such 


CHRIST    OUR    RK^HTEOUSNESS  599 

obedience,  the  Son  of  Goid  took  upon  Him  the  nature  of 
humaniity.  But  as  this  nature  was  assumed  into  a  subsistence 
with  the  divine  nature  so  as  to  be  mysteriously  yet  certainly 
united  with  it — therefore  does  this  righteousness  become  "the 
righteousness  of  God  in  Him,"  and  He  becomes  "the  Lord,  or 
Jehovah,  our  Righteousness."  It  was  this  union  of  the  Divin- 
ity with  the  humanity  in  the  person  of  our  Saviour  by  which  He 
was  constituted  Emmanuel  God  with  us  wihich  gave  dignity  and 
value  to  His  voluntary  humiliationi,  obedience,  and  death.  It 
is  thus  that  His  Godhead  throws  the  lustre  of  its  infinit-e  and 
unspeakable  glory  around  all  that  He  did  as  our  Deliverer. 
His  inicarnation  is  on  this  view  "the  manifestation  of  God  in 
the  flesh."  His  life  of  holy  devotiom  to  the  glory  of  God  is  the 
amazing  condescenision  of  this  Adorable  Person,  that  by  this 
voluntary  obeisance  to  the  divine  law  in  the  nature  O'f  the  sinh 
ner,  and  in  the  very  province  where  rebellioni  had  been  perpe- 
trated, He  might  "declare  God's  righteousness  that  He  might 
be  just,"  "the  Lord  being  well  pleased  for  His  righteousness 
sake  by  wbich  He  magnified  the  law  and  made  it  honourable." 
His  blood  wshich  He  shed  upon  the  cross  is  thus  "the  blood  of 
the  Son  of  God,"  and  is,  therefore,  "able  to  cleanse  from  all 
sin."  Strip  Christ  oi  His  Godhead  and  you  destroy  the  value 
and  the  efficacy  of  His  "propitiation!  for  the  sins  of  the  w'hole 
world ;"  you  blot  out  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  from  the 
heavenly  firmament  and  senid  us  for  our  guidance  over  the 
frowning  ocean  of  the  wrath  of  God  to  some  lonely  star,  itself 
depending  for  its  feeble  light  upon  that  very  luminary  which 
has  been  extimguished.  Such  a  created  being  might  proclaim 
or  exemplify  the  righteousness  of  God, — but  in  so  doing  he 
would  only  render  that  service  wbich  was  due  from  himself  to 
his  glorious  Author  and  Benefactor.  But  the  law  of  God 
demanded  perfect  holiness:  and'  sinless  obedience  in  that  cove- 
nant wbich  man  had  broken  and  whose  consequent  penalty  man 
was  noiw  under  obligation  to  endure — and'  He  who  O'flfered  to 
take  the  sinner's  place  and  meet  in  His  own  person  all  the  claims 
of  this  immutable  and  holy  law  must  have  a  dignity  wihioh  will 
give  infinite  value  tO'  His  interposition,  power  to  make  a  volun- 
tary offer  of  His  substituted  services,  ability  to  enter  upon  this 
work  in  this  character  with  no  other  claims  upon  His  obedience 


600  CHRIST   OUR   RIGHTEOUSNESS. 

tlian  what  He  thus  freely  choose  to  assume;  and  He  must  be 
able  also  to  pay  the  uttermost  farthiog  of  these  righteous 
cleman/ds  and  to  bear  the  last  pang  of  its  most  cursed  and  bitter 
penalty.  And  because  Christ,  as  God,  was  in  a  capacity  to 
meet  all  these  requiremenits  as  "the  Lx>rd  Jehovah^  our  Right- 
eousness," therefore,  is  He  "made  unto  us  of  God,"  "by  the 
glory  of  wihose  power  He  was  raised  from  the  dead."  As  it 
regards  the  Father  this  completed  obedience,  when  applied  to 
the  sinner,  is  "the  gift  of  righteousness."  As  it  regards  the 
Son  it  is  "a  righteousness"  which  becomes  ours  "by  faith"  upon 
Him.  As  it  regards  the  Holy  Ghost  it  is  a  righteousness  which 
He  "brings  near"  (Is.  46:3),  "convincing  us  of"  its  need  and 
applying  it  to  our  hearts  by  the  iuiward  testimony  that  "there  is 
no  longer  any  oondemniation  to  us  who  are  in  Christ  Jesus." 

HI.  But  when  a  demonstration  has  been  given  of  the  abso- 
lute inability  of  any  sinner  to  justify  himself  by  any  righteous- 
ness within  (him  before  God's  holy  law,  and  of  the  equally  cer- 
tain fact  that  under  a  moral  government,  which  is  a  government 
of  laws,  such  as  is  the  administration  of  the  Sovereign  of  the 
universe,  it  was  impossible  that  satisfaction  could  be  given  on 
behalf  of  a  sininer  by  any  one  who  was  not  equal  with  God  and 
therefore  able  to  treat  with  God  and  able  to  treat  for  man. 
Even  when  it  has  been  shown  that  the  Son  of  God  has  im  His 
infinite  mercy  thus  stretched  forth  His  hand  to  save,  given 
satisfaction  to  the  law.  as  a  violated  covenant,  and  to  the 
requirements  of  the  law,  as  an  immutable  standard, — still  man 
is  left  personally,  and  as  to  his  individual  interest  in  this  great 
salvation,  as  far  off  from  the  friendship  and  favour  of  God  as 
before.  There  may  be  a  way  of  escape  prepared,  but  be  is  not 
set  forward  upon  it.  There  may  be  a  ransom  paid,  but  he  is 
still  in  captivity  to  sin  and  Satan.  There  may  be  a  perfect 
righteousness  by  which  God  can  now  be  just  and  yet  justify  the 
ungodly,  but  he  is  not  a  partaker  of  it.  God  may  now  occupy 
a  throne  of  grace — and  hold  out  the  sceptre  of  mercy — and 
declare  His  willingness  to  justify  freely  all  who  appear  before 
Him  clothed  in  this  robe  of  Christ's  righteousness,  this  wed- 
ding garment ;  but  He.  alas,  is  poor  and  miserable,  and  blind 
and  naked;  wherewithal  can  be  lay  claim  to  a  gift  so  priceless 
and  to  an  honour  so  divine?     Is  he  the  King's  son  that  he 


CHRIST   OUR    RIGHTEOUSNESS.  601 

should  be  clad  iii  1  lis  royal  robes  and  be  called  by  His  name  and 
appropriate  His  honours?  By  what  way,  therefore,  may  the 
sinruer  come  into  possession  of  this  tinished  righteousness,  see- 
ing it  is  the  righteousness  of  God, — the  personal  and  insepara- 
ble righteousness  of  Him  who  achieved  it  by  His  obedience 
unito  death?  Certain  it  is  this  righteousness  can  never  cease 
to  be  His  whose  it  is,  and  to  whom  alone  it  can  ever  be  per- 
sonally attributed  as  an  inherent  right.  There  is  no  possible 
way  in  which  this  righteousness  of  Christ  can  be  transfused 
into  the  sinner  so  as  to  be  His  and  not  Christ's.  And  yet  cer- 
tain it  is  that  it  is  only  through  this  righteousness  any  guilty 
siinner  can  ever  be  acquitted  before  the  tribunal  of  heaven. 

IV.  But  if  this  righteousness  cannot  become  ours  personally 
so  as  to  be  transferred  to  us,  may  it  not  become  ours  legally  so 
as  to  become  ours  in  law  ?  May  there  not  be  such  a  relation  conn 
stituted  between  us  and  Him  whose  righteousness  it  is  that  the 
merit  and  virtue  and  sufficiency  of  this  righteousness  to  meet 
all  the  demands  of  the  law  against  us  may  be  reckoned  to  our 
credit  and  we  treated  accordingly  as  free  from  the  law  of  sin 
and  death?  May  not  Christ  voluntarily  undertake  to  plead 
our  hopeless  case  at  heaven's  bar — and  there  to  answer  every 
claim  against  us  by  the  presentation  of  His  own  all-sufficient 
merit ;  and  there  to  pay  down  out  of  that  fund  which  is  to  His 
credit  in  the  courts  of  heaven  the  ran^som  needed  for  our  deliv- 
erance; and  there  throw  over  our  polluted  nature  the  coming 
of  His  all  perfect  righteousness ;  and  there  intercede  for  us  as 
those  for  whom  He  died  and  who  are  therefore  the  purchase 
of  His  blood?  And  may  not  God  the  Father  in  virtue  of  the 
covenant  between  Him  and  Christ  and  in  the  fulness  of  His 
infinite  compassion  toward  us  and  His  infinite  satisfaction  with 
the  mediation  of  His  Son — reckon  Christ's  righteousness  as 
before  the  law  ours  and  treat  us  as  righteous  in  Him  ? 

Now,  this  is  just  the  way  in  which  Christ  is  "the  Lord  our 
Righteousness,"'  "He  is  made  unto  us  of  God  Righteousness," 
not  by  losing  aught  of  His  glorious  idenity  or  'by  our  being 
amalgamated  in  some  pantheistic  assimilation  with  Him,  but 
simply  by  virtue  of  His  being  our  Representative  in  the  work- 
ing out  of  that  righteousness,  our  Covenant  Head, — our  Advo- 
cate and  Intercessor — and  in  consequence  of  the  legal  imion 


602  CHRIST   OUR    RIGHTEOUSNESS. 

thus  formed  between  Him  and  us — and  t'he  imputation  to  uS' — 
as  in  law  ours — and  satisfactory  on  our  behalf — 'of  His  glori- 
ous righteousness.  Thus  it  is  that  Christ  becomes  our  right- 
eousness and  we  can  uniderstand  how  "blessed  is  the  man  io 
whom  the  Lord  imputed  righteousness  without  works."  By 
the  imputation  oi  Christ's  rigbteousoess  there  is  no  change 
effected  in  our  hearts  subjectively,  but  there  is  a  change  wrought 
in  our  character  and  standing  legally.  We  are  not  thereby 
sanctified,  but  we  are  therelby  justified.  We  are  not  trans- 
formed so  as  to  become  holy,  but  we  are  so  as  to  be  acquitted 
and  pardoned.  Imputation  is  a  legal  act,  and  not  a  work.  It 
is  the  act  of  a  Judge  not  of  a  regenerator.  By  the  imputation 
of  this  righteousness  to  us  God  regards  us  as  free  from  the 
claims  of  law,  as  'having  all  its  former  demands  against  us  can- 
celled, as  those,  therefore,  whom  while  Himself  strictly  just, 
He  can  fully  justify.  God  has  accepted  Christ  as  our  Substi- 
tute. The  righteousness  of  Christ  God  has  pronounced  to  be 
a  propitiation  adequate  to  the  sins  of  the  whole  world.  By  the 
decree  of  election  we  Avbo  are  saved  were  chosen  in  Christ  and 
were  given  to  Him.  As  otir  Surety  He,  as  the  head  of  His 
mystical  body,  represented  that  body  before  the  law  and  justice 
of  God,  bore  their  sins  and  endured  for  them  the  bitter  curse 
of  death.  And  when  called  by  God's  grace  we  are  enabled  to 
believe  upon  this  Saviour,  and  God  by  virtue  of  this  union, 
treats  us  as  thus  represented  by  Christ,  and  therefore  as  riglit- 
eous  in  His  righteousness.  And  wihile  it  is  true  that  the 
redeemed  sinner  will  remain  to  eternity  in^  bis  personal  char- 
acter just  as  guilty  as  he  ever  was,  it  is  equally  true  he  will 
remain  eternally  justified  by  consequence  of  his  everlasting 
untioni  with  Christ. 

Here  we  have  marked  out  to  us  the  four  stages  in  the  jour- 
ney of  life.  By  entering  upon  this  narrow  way,  through  the 
straight  gate  of  repentance  we  are  first  led  to  the  school  of 
wisdom  where  we  are  taught  by  the  Spirit  of  God  and  con- 
vinced of  sin.  We  are  then  brought  on  our  way,  until  by  the 
interposition  of  the  Advocate  on  high  we  are  justified  and  set 
free  from  the  condemnation  wihich  was  against  us — in  the  hand- 
writing of  heaven's  chancery.  We  are  then  led  by  the  Spirit 
of  God,  as  His  adopted  children,  in  the  path  of  sanctification 


CHRIST   OUR    RlCtlTEOUSNESS.  603 

until  being  prepared  for  glory,  our  abuodant  entrance  is  admin- 
istered unto  us  into  His  heavenly  Kingdom. 

It  is,  therefore,  at  once  apparent  how  fundamentally  impor- 
tant, how  practically  vital — to  the  salvation  of  the  soul — are 
correct  views  of  this  great  doctrine  of  the  apostle.  How  a 
simier  can  be  justified  before  God  the  infinitely  just  and  holy, 
this  is  the  one  great  problem  to  the  solution  of  which  even 
angels  are  incompetent  and  upon  whose  solution  hangs  the 
destiny  of  our  fallen  world.  "Christ  is  made  unto  us  of  God 
Righteousness."  Tihis  is  that  hidden,  mystery  of  godliness 
which  no  man  had  ever  been  able  to  discover  neither  can  now 
naturally  comprehend  and  into  which  the  angels  of  heaven 
desire  to  look. 

But  all-important  as  a  correct  knowledge  of  the  doctrine 
of  justification  is,  let  me  again  remind  you  that  this  explains 
but  one  of  the  great  leading  steps  by  which  you  must  strive  to 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven'.  Were  it  possible  that  Christ 
could  be  made  unto  you  Righteousness,  withotrt  at  the  same 
time  being  made  unto  you  Sanctification,  then  would  you  still 
remain  in  your  pollution  and  depravity  altogether  unfit  for  an 
iniheritance  among  the  saints  in  light.  As  the  natural  man 
imderstandeth  not  the  things  that  be  of  God,  Christ  must,  as  the 
Great  Teacher,  be  made  unto  you  Wisdom.  As  no  man  living 
can  by  any  works  of  righteousness  be  justified  in  God's  sight 
Christ  must  be  made  unto  you  Righteousness.  As  all  the 
imaginations  of  the  thoughts  of  your  heart  are  evil  and  only 
evil,  and  that  continually,  so  must  Christ  be  made  unto  you  by 
the  gift  of  His  Holy  Spirit,  Sanctification.  And  as  you  still 
bear  about  with  you  while  in  the  body  the  remnant  fibres  of  this 
old  man  of  sin  and  death,  so  is  it  needful  in  order  to  your  fit 
preparation  for  an  entrance  into  life  eternal  that  Christ  should 
be  made  unto  you  complete  Redemption.  Your  understanding 
must  be  savingly  enlightened — your  persons  fully  justified^ — 
your  (hearts  gradually  and  growingly  sanctified^ — ^and  your 
bodies,  souls  and  spirits  completely  glorified.  Humility,  faith, 
devotion,  hope,  these  are  the  elements  of  christian  character 
and  the  way-marks  of  the  christian's  progress.  The  helpless 
inability  of  the  sinner,  the  imputation  of  the  righteousness  of 
Christ,  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost — these  are  the  corner 


604  CHRIST    OUR    RIGHTEOUSNESS. 

Stone  of  that  temple  of  grace  of  which  Jesus  Christ  Himself  is 
t'he  great  and  only  foundation,  the  Sovereign  mercy  of  God  tilie 
origin  and  the  infinite  wisdom  of  God  the  only  buildier  and 
maker. 

Into  this  temple  you  are  this  day  invited  to  enter  that  you 
may  hold  communion  and  fellowship  with  God  the  Father,  the 
Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost. 


IMPUTATION 


A  SERMON 

BY    THE 

Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 
Of  Oiarleston,  S.  C. 


October,  1840. 


IMPUTATION. 


1  Pet.  3  :18. 

For  Christ  also  hath  once  suffered  for  sins  the  just  for  the  unjust  that 
He  might  bring  us  to  God,  being  put  to  death  in  the  flesh  but  quickened  by 
the  spirit. 

The  language  of  the  apostle,  as  found  in  the  passage  selected 
for  our  present  meditation,  and-  in  the  context,  is  doctrinal  and 
also  ethical.  It  presents  to  our  view  the  character  and  medita- 
tion of  Christ  both  as  a  pattern  to  be  imitated  by  us  and  also  as 
a  ground  of  salvation  whereby  we  may  be  redeemed.  We  are 
here  exhorted  to  a  patient  continuance  in  well  doing,  and  in 
suffering  affliction,  by  a  reference  to  Christ  who  was  in  this 
respect  our  exemplar  to  be  followed  as  He  was  also  our  Media- 
tor in  whom  we  are  implicity  to  rest  our  hopes  of  salvation. 

There  is  set  forth  in  this  passage  the  all-important  truth  that 
human  rederruption  was  effected  by  a  suffering  Redeemer ;  that 
this  Redeemer  was  incarnate  Deity ;  that  this  Redeemer  became 
incarnate  and  underwent  all  His  sufferings  as  the  Substitute 
for  simiers ;  and  that  the  wihole  design  of  these  sufferings  was 
to  make  atonement  for  the  sins  of  men.  We  may  summarily 
comprehend  the  doctrine  of  our  text,  as  far  as  it  is  possible  to 
grasp  it  in  a  single  discourse,  under  the  nature  and  design  of 
the  sufferings  of  Christ. 

I.  And,  first,  let  us  inquire  into  the  nature  of  the  sufferings 
of  Christ. 

That  Christ  was  actually  a  suffering  Messiah  is  a  fact  which 
His  entire  history  abundantly  attests.  He  was  conceived  under 
circumstances  which  exposed)  His  virgin  mother  to  contumely 
and  scorn.  Born  in  destitution,  cradled  in  poverty,  driven  by 
persecution  into  infantile  exile. — disesteemed  by  His  own  breth- 
ren, despised  and  rejected  by  His  fellow  countrymen.  Pie 
drifted  about  homeless  and  friendless.  Christ  was  indeed  "a 
man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief."  Every  element 
which  more  sadly  embitters  the  cup  of  ihunian  woe,  poverty, 
reproach,  hatred,  sco-m,  were  all  mingled  in  that  cup  which  was 
given  Him  to  drink.  He  was  persecuted  by  men,  tempted  by 
devils  and  forsaken  by  God.     The  dark  cloud  of  sorrow  and 

39— Vol.  X. 


610  IMPUTATION. 

misfortune  which  settled  upon  His  birth,  gathered  around  His 
mianhood,  until  it  enshrouded  His  grave  in  awful  terrors.  His 
path  was  tracked  by  tears  and  terminated  in  blood  and  death. 
There  were  but  two  periods,  as  far  as  is  recorded,  during  His 
thirty-three  years  of  earthly  ministration  when  the  light  of  joy 
broke,  like  a  sunburst  through  that  fierce  storm  by  which  He 
was  encompassed.  Maligned  and  misrepresented  through  life, 
He  was  at  lenigth  ofifered  up  a  victim  of  cruelty,  on  the  altar  of 
despotism,  hy  the  hands  of  perjury,  and  the  connivance  of  an 
unrighteous  and  self -convicted  judge. 

Tlhe  sufferings  of  Christ,  therefore,  extended  from  His 
cradle  to  His  grave,  and  through  the  whole  period  of  His  life 
until  they  consummated  in  His  ignominious  and  accursed  death 
upon  the  cross.  He  was  "obedient  unto  death."  It  was  when 
He  drew  near  to  this  last  hour  of  agony  that  the  elements  of 
wrath,  which  had  been  gathering  in  denser  mass  during  the 
whole  period  of  His  life,  burst  in  all  their  fury  upon  Him. 
"This/'  said  He  to  the  Jews  when  they  laid  violent  hands  upon 
Him,  "this  is  your  hour  and  the  power  of  darkness."  Whether 
we  trace  these  sufferings  as  depicted  in  the  language  of 
prophecy  (Ps.  22:  1-15,  &c. ;  Is.  53,  &c.,) — or  in  the  language 
of  the  evangelical  record, — or  in  the  actual  history  of  the  facts 
of  the  case,  they  were  of  such  a  nature  as  to  exceed  the  com- 
prehension or  the  endurance  of  a  merely  mortal  man.  We  see 
the  Saviour  at  the  Pascal  Supper  calm,  collected,  conversible 
and  full  of  tender  assiduity  toward  His  mourning  dific;,.!es, 
and  in  a  little  while  after,  in  the  solitude  of  dark  Gethsemane, 
before  any  danger  was  yet  apprehended  by  His  disciples,  we 
behold  Him  covered  with  amazement,  in  the  most  unutterable 
agony,  and  importunately  beseeching  God  to  let  His  cup  of 
misery  pass  from  Him.  Before  any  human  hand  had  touched 
Him  He  said,  "My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful  even  unto 
death." 

These  sufferings  affected  both  His  body  and  His  soul.  As 
to  His  body  we  are  informed  that  "being  in  an  agony  He 
prayed  more  earnestly  and  His  sweat  was  as  it  were  great  drops 
of  blood  falling  down  to  the  ground."  But  the  sufferings  of 
Christ  were  unquestionably  seated  in  His  mind  as  their  source 
and  origin.     It  was,  as  has  heen  stated,  while  as  yet  unknown 


IMPUTATION.  611 

by  any  external  violence  "He  began  tO'  be  sore  amazed,"  when 
"His  soul  was  exceeding  sorrowful  and  the  pains  of  hell  gat 
hold  upon  Him."  When  He  hung  upon  the  cross,  bleeding  and 
dying,  His  complaint  was, — not  that  He  enidured  excruciating 
torments  in  His  body,  but  it  was,  as  expressed  ini  that  mysteri- 
ous cry,  "My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?"  He 
was  filled  with  dejection,  sorrow,  constinatiou,  and  shame,  with 
an  overwhelming  sense  of  the  divine  displeasure  and  the  frown 
of  an  angry  God.  It  was  this  eternal  conflict  which  shattered 
His  earthly  tabemiacle  and  burst  His  mighty  heart.  It  was  by 
the  sorrow  and  bitterness  of  His  soul,  it  was  poured  out  unto 
death,  and  not  by  any  physical  exhaustion,  for  at  the  very 
moment  He  expired  He  cried  with  "a  loud  voice"  and  "gave  up 
the  ghost." 

Tihis  leads  us  to  remark  that  the  sufferings  of  Chirist  must 
have  been  vicarious.  They  were  not  inflicted  on  Him  for  any 
personal  ill-desert,  but  as  a  substitute  and  as  standing  in  the 
place  of  sinners.  All  suffering  is  an  expression  of  the  divine 
anger.  It  never  did  have  and  it  niever  can  have  existence  where 
there  has  been  no  previous  sin.  Suffering,  too,  is  that  very 
penalty  with  which  God  in  His  righteousness  threatens  the 
wicked.  "Woe  unto  the  wicked  it  shall  be  ill  with  him;  for  the 
reward  of  his  hands  shall  be  given  him."  Nay,  the  very  suf- 
ferings which  were  endured  by  Christ  are  represented  as  hav- 
ing been:  inflicted  upon  Him  by  God  and  were  a  manifestation 
of  the  divine  indignatiom.  It  was  God  who  deserted  Him.  It 
was  God  who  put  into  His  hands^  the  cup  which  He  so  earnestly 
entreated  might  pass  f  ro^i  Him^.  It  was  God  who,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  an  ancient  prophecy,  applied  by  our  Saviour  to  this 
very  event,  exclaimied,  "Awake,  O  sword,  against  my  shepherd 
and  against  the  man  that  is  my  fellow,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts. 
smite  the  shepherd  and  the  sheep  shall  be  scattered"  (Math. 
26:31  and  Zech.  13:7). 

But  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  Christ  personally  was  in  all 
respects  holy,  harmless  and  undefiled — personally  He  "knew  no 
sin" — for  even  when  He  suffered  He  was,  as  our  text  affirms, 
"the  just."  Personally  He  was  the  beloved  of  the  Father,  His 
only  begotten  Son  in  whom  He  was  well  pleased  and  in^  whom 
His  soul  dehghted.     The  conclusion,  therefore,  is  irresistible 


612  IMPUTATION. 

that  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  being  in  themselves  expressive  of 
dlivine  anger,  while  no  such  anger  could  be  possibly  cherished 
towards  Christ  personally  must  have  been  inflicted  upon  Him 
vicariously  or  as  He  occupied  the  room,  and  stood  forth  as  the 
representative  of  sinners,  and  by  whom  these  sufferings  were 
justly  merited. 

That  God  did  thus  really  and  truly  in  the  exercise  of  His 
rectorial  justice  and  as  moral  governor  of  the  universe  execute 
upon  Christ  as  the  penalty  of  a  broken  and  a  violated  law,  the 
sore  agonies  He  endured,  is  as  certain  as  the  truth  of  God  can 
make  it.  For  it  is  unquestionably  said  that  "Jehovah  laid  on 
Him  the  iniquities  of  us  all — and  that  "Christ  was  made  a  curse 
for  us,"  "being  accursed  of  God."  (See  Gal.  3:13  and  Deut. 
21:23.) 

But  it  is  no  less  plain  and  manifest,  to  view  this  subject  in 
another  light,  than  it  is  essential  to  the  character  of  God  to  treat 
every  one  according  to  his  own  character  and  deserts.  The 
glory  to  God  amid  the  rectitude  of  His  government,  therefore, 
demand  that  He  should  recompense  evil  to  the  evil  and  good  to 
the  righteous.  And  yet  the  man  Christ  Jesus  who  was  '"made 
sin" — who  "endured  the  curse,"  even  the  curse  of  God,  and 
against  \\'hom  the  sword  of  divine  vengeance  was  drawn  forth 
in  terrible  severity— this  same  Jesus,  who  was  ''bruised  and 
smitten,"  was  the  well  beloved  Son  of  God  (Math.  3:17  and 
17:5  and  1'3:18),  and  always  did  those  things  that  are  pleasing 
unto  the  Father  (John  8:29). 

These  sufferings,  therefore,  and  this  curse — and  that  wrath- 
ful vengeance — ^and  all  this  mysterious  and  incomprehensible 
agony — were  not  inflicted  upon  the  Saviour,  as  He  wa?  viewed 
by  God  personally,  or  as  He  was  personally  deserving  of  them 
— but  they  were  laid  upon  Him  as  the  sin  oft"ering  of  a  guilty 
race,,  voluntarily  presented  by  Himself  in  virtue  of  His  power 
and  right  to  lay  down  that  life  which  He  had  Himself  chosen 
to  assume  that  in  it  He  might  suffer  the  just  for  the  unjust  to 
bring  us  to  God.  For  God  made  Him  to  be  sin.  for  us  who 
Icnew  no  sin. 

n.  We  are,  therefore,  brought  to  our  second  proposition,  as 
embodying  the  doctrine  of  our  text,  v.'hich  is  that  the  sufferings 
of  Christ  were  designed  to  make  atonement  for  the  sins  of  men. 


IMPUTATION.  613 

In  that  holy  and  happy  estate  in  which  men  were  created, 
there  was  an  intimate  and  endearing  union  and  communion 
between  them  and  God.  They  walked  with  God  and  God 
walked  with  them,  face  to  face  in  some  manifested  form  of 
visible  glory.  There  was  nothing  to  interrupt  the  flow  of  the 
divine  benignity  toward  man  or  of  the  love  of  man  toward  his 
all-merciful  Creator.  Sin  had  not  then  arisen  to  eclipse  the 
glory  of  this  divine  radiance  and  involve  the  soul  in  worse  than 
Cimmerian  darkness. 

This  union  and  communion  between  man:  and  God  was 
destroyed  by  the  apostasy,  and  is  now  impossible.  God  as 
righteous  and  holy  was  bound  to  treat  man  in  consequence  of 
his  guilt  as  an  ofifender,  and  to  withdraw  from  him  all  those 
favours  which  were  the  pledges  and  tokens  of  divine  com- 
placency and  approbation.  By  the  treason  of  Adam,  our  head 
and  representative,  death  has  passed  upon  all  men  for  that,  by 
his  one  act  of  disobedience  all  have  sinned.  As  thus  guilty  we 
are  all  condemned  by  'heaven's  righteous  law  and  must  be 
regarded  as  culprits,  and  offenders  'by  heaven's  righteous 
Judge ;  whilst  we  are  altogether  impotent  to  render  any  satis- 
faction by  which  this  penalty  may  be  averted  and  God's  favour 
and  kindness  restored. 

Such  was  our  condition  as  foreseen  by  God  in  the  counsels 
of  His  own  eternity.  We  were  "unjust."  Judged  by  the  law 
of  perfect  and  sinless  purity,  we  could  not  be  justified — but 
must  be  condemned.  And  since  this  law  was  holy,  just  and 
good  it  could  not  possibly  be  altered,  cancelled,  or  annulled. 
And,  my  'brethren,  the  fact  that  in  such  a  situation  the  brighter 
intelligences  of  heaven  found  no  redemption  from  the  wrath 
revealed  against  all  ungodliness,  is  of  itself  sufficient  to  demon- 
strate that  it  was  altogether  beyond  the  reach  of  any  finite  wis- 
dom to  determine  whether  in  the  case  of  man  any  provision 
could  possibly  be  made  whereby  a  sinful  race,  or  any  part  of  it, 
might  be  delivered  from  impending  misery.  This  question 
could  be  solved  only  by  Him  to  whose  all-seeing  wisdom  the 
whole  interests  of  His  entire  dominion  in  all  its  parts  and  in  all 
its  duration,  were  present.  He  alone  to  whom  belonged  the 
supreme  authority  and  from  whom  the  laws  of  heaven  ema- 
nated, could  exercise  a  dispensing  power  or  give  validity  to  any 


614  IMPUTATION. 

scheme  by  which  a  commutation  of  punisihment  should  be  intro- 
duced'. And  when  God  ihad  determined  that  such  a  substitu- 
tion on  behalf  of  the  guilty  race  of  man  should  be  admitted  it 
was  further  necessary,  in  order  to  effectuate  such  a  plan,  that 
He  who  should  thus  vicariously  suffer  should  do  so  by  His  own 
voluntary  choice, — that  He  should  be  Himself  free  from  that 
guilt  whose  penalty  He  was  to  bear — ^that  He  should  stand  in 
some  relation  to  those  in  whose  place  He  was  substituted — that 
in  order  to  render  His  interfererxe  subservient  to  the  interests 
of  God's  moral  government  He  sihould  fully  justify  and  uphold 
the  righteousness  of  that  law  by  which  He  should  be  con- 
demned— that  He  should  be  possessed  of  such  a  personal  dig- 
nity as  to  be  of  equal  consideration  to  the  party  on  whose  behalf 
He  interposed — anid  that  He  should  endure  in  His  own  person 
such  an  amount  of  suffering  as  should  appear  to  the  righteous 
Judge  a  full  equivalent  for  that  penalty  which  was  due  to  all 
for  whom  He  thus  interposed.  Now,  these  conditions  were  all 
gloriously  filled  in  the  mediation  of  our  Lx)rd  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ.  "He  gave  Himself  for  our  sins,  to  redeem  us  from  the 
present  evil  world,  according  to  the  will  of  God  even  our 
Father."  In  this  was  manifested  the  love  of  God  toward  us, 
because  that  "God  sent  His  only  begotten  Son  into  the  world  to 
be  the  propitiation  for  our  sins."  And  "I  came  forth  from  the 
Father."  said  the  Saviour,  "and  come  intO'  the  world.  I  have 
power  to  lay  down  my  life  anrl  I  have  power  to  take  it  up 
again."  "For  as  much  as  the  children  are  partakers  of  flesh 
and  blood  He  also  Himself  took  part  of  the  same."  "He  was 
made  like  unto  us  in  all  points  yet  without  sin."  And  as  Christ 
was  in  Himself  "holy,  harmless,  undefiled  and  separate  from 
sinners  as  a  lamb  without  spot,"  and  was  thus  "such  an  one  as 
became  us,"  so  did  He  ever  magnify  and  exalt  the  holy  law  of 
God.  (See  Math.  5:18.  &c.)  Thus  while  Christ,  by  the 
assumption  of  our  human  nature,  was  capacitated  for  suffering 
in  our  room  and  stead,  He  was  also  able  by  the  glorious  and 
ineffable  dignity  of  His  divine  character  to  give  sufificieney  and 
efficacy  to  His  mediatory  sufferings.  "How  shall"  not  "the 
blood  of  Christ  who'  through  the  eternal  Spirit"  that  is.  His 
divine  nature,  "offered  Himself  without  spot  to  God,  purge 
your  consciences  from  dead  works"  and  "cleanse  from  all  sin," 


IMPUTATION.  615 

seeing  He  was  "the  only  begotten  of  the  Father,  the  brightness 
of  His  glory  and  the  express  image  of  His  person)?"  There- 
fore is  it  here  said  that  Christ  "hath  once  suffered,"  wherein  is 
very  forcibly  expressed  the  mighty  and  prevailing  virtue  of  the 
sufferer  of  whom  such  was  the  pre-eminent  dignity  and  merit 
that  although  He  represented  the  entire  guilt  of  elect  sinners 
of  mankind,  His  individual  sufferings  once  renidered.  were 
adequate  to  annihilate  the  whole  power  of  our  offences 
and  to  give  perfect  satisfactio'n  to  the  law  and  justice  of  God. 
(See  Rom.  6:10;  Heb.  7:37  and  9:7,  &c.) 

The  whole  nature  of  Christ's  mediation,  it  is  thus  apparent, 
depends  on  the  combination,  in  His  mysterious  person,  of  the 
divinity  and  humanity  that  so,  while  in  the  latter  He  "once  suf- 
fered being  put  to  death  in  the  flesh,"  by  the  former  He  sliould 
have  potency  to  sustain  the  otherwise  impotent  and  frail  m.an- 
hooid — ^dignity  to  countervail  the  evil  involved  in  all  the  iniqui- 
ties of  that  entire  mass  whose  transgressions  He  bore  upon'  His 
accursed  headi — and  ability  also  to  render  up  the  life  of  His 
assumed  body  and  to  raise  it  up  again  triumphant  from  the 
grave,  being  "quickened  by  the"  divine  and  everlasting  "Spirit." 
The  regard  of  God  as  the  Supreme  governor  of  the  universe, 
for  the  good  of  that  community  over  which  He  presides,  could 
not  be  maintained  inviolate  without  such  a  measure  as  this 
whereby  to  convince  His  creatures  of  His  infinite  hatred  oi 
sin,  and  of  His  wisdom  and  sincerity  in  the  promulgation  of 
that  law  which  denouniced  the  severest  vengeance  against  all 
violators  of  it.  For  this  law  must  be  regarded  as  expressive 
of  the  character  and  will  of  God  and  therefore  must  its  penalty 
and  its  precepts  be  in  all  respects  adequately  upheld  and 
enforced.  In  no  other  way  than  such  as  preserves  the  honor 
of  the  divine  law  and  the  glory  of  every  attribute  of  the  divine 
character  could  our  offences  against  the  divine  majesty  be  for- 
given, expiated  or  propitiated. 

It  remains,  therefore,  since  God  in  His  own  sovereign 
pleasure  and  goodness  was  disposed  to-  commute  the  punish- 
ment of  our  guilty  race  that  the  justly-merited  penalties  of  His 
broken  law  should  be  averted  by  the  interposition  of  a  substi- 
tute in  the  person  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  And  this  end, 
even  reconciliation  between  God  our  offended  Judge  and  guilty 


616  IMPUTATION. 

and  rebellious  man,  is  asserted  hy  the  word  of  God  to  have 
been  the  object  and  the  result  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ. 
"For  Christ  hath  once  suffered" — "for  sins" — "the  just  for  the 
unjust" — "that  He  might  bring  us  to  God."  We  are  here 
designated  sinners  by  a  term  which  expresses  our  relation  to 
the  divine  law  (XStrjcov)  and  our  want  of  right  or  justice  when 
brought  to  a  judicial  process.  Christ,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
declared  to  have  suffered  for  (Treft)  sins,  the  just  for  the  unjust, 
that  is,  as  a  righteous  person,  wiho  was  perfectly  just  before  the 
law,  for  the  unrighteous  and  that  on  account  of  their  sins. 
And  He  was  thus  put  to  death  in  the  flesh,  as  the  substituted 
sin  offering  in  tlie  stead  of  sinners,  "that  He  might  bring  us 
to  God." 

Sin  had  placed  God  and  man  apart — separated  between  them 
— and  disrupted  all  the  ties  of  harmony  and  concord.  But  the 
atoning  death  and  mediatory  sufferings  of  Christ,  have  effected 
a  reconcilation.  Go'd  is  at-oned.  and  brought  to  be  at  one 
with  those  for  whose  sins  Christ  has  thus  made  all  required 
satisfaction.  The  sufferings  of  Christ  are  thus  an  at-one-ment, 
since  by  them  He  has  procured  the  liberty  and  the  power  of 
leading  us  to  God.  Christ  has,  by  His  mediation,  not  merely 
prepared  the  way  by  which  sinners  may  find  access  to  God,  He 
has  not  only  disposed  the  Almighty  Ruler  and  Judge  to  receive 
these  returning  penitents.  This  were  not  an  at-one-ment  at 
all,  for  it  would  still  leave  the  parties  in  their  separation  and 
<listance  and  give  no  certainty  v\'hatever  that  the  opening  for 
actual  reconciliation  would  be  ever  embraced  by  a  single  sinner 
of  the  whole  ruined  race.  And  'besides  God  required  no  medi- 
ation to  render  Him  reconcilable  since  the  very  purpose  of  sal- 
vation took  its  rise  in  the  bosom  of  His  infinite  and  everlasting 
love.  There  never  was  any  hindrance  or  difficulty  on  the  part 
of  God  to  the  full  adjustment  of  man's  apostasy,  the  entire  dif- 
ficulty is  and  ever  was  on  the  part  of  man.  He  was  now  guilty 
and  he  was  impotent  and  therefore  as  Moral  Governor  and 
judge  God  could  not  otherwise  regard  or  treat  him.  But  God 
in  His  own  nature  and  disposition  was  not  the  less  full  of  ten- 
derness and  love  and  therefore  did  His  eye  pity  and  His  arm 
bring  salvation.  It  was  only  because  "God  sO'  loved  the  world" 
as  to  exceed  in  measure  our  comprehension,  even  as  much  "as 


IMPUTATION.  617 

are  the  heavens  aboN-e  the  earth,"  that  "He  gave  flis  only 
begotten^  Son  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  shoulKl  not 
perish  but  have  everlasting  life." 

Christ,  therefore,  once  suffered  the  "just  for  the  unjust,"  not 
as  some  affirm — not,  (as  Arminians  and  Pelagians  and  our 
new  theologians  teach),  that  He  might  render  it  proper  for  God 
to  treat  with  and  to  pardon  returning  sinners  should  they 
come  unto  Him ;  but  that  He  might  actually  bring  us  near  to 
God  by  virtue  of  that  power  whicb  as  Mediator  He  had  thus 
secured.  Christ  as  the  head  of  His  Church  and  people,  as  a 
Prince  and  a  Saviour  actually  draws  all  those  for  whom  He 
died  unto  Himself.  "This,"  says  Bullinger,  "is  the  fruit  of  our 
Lord's  passion  that  He  brings  back  the  fugitives  to  His  Father 
and  the  lost  to  the  abodes  of  blessedniess."  Having  Himself 
returned  to  the  Father,  and  the  glory  of  the  skies,  through  the 
merits  of  these  His  suft'erings  on  their  account,  He  brings  them 
also  who  had  been  alienated  and  unjust,  to  the  same  exaltation 
and  glory.  "He  is  thus  made  of  God  unto  them  for  whom  He 
intercedes  and  to  whom  He  applies  the  merits  of  His  suft'er- 
ing  and  death,"  "wisdom  and  righteousness  and  sanctification 
and  complete  redemption."  "In  whom  we  have  redemption 
through  His  blood  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  according  to  the 
riches  of  His  grace."  And  thus  are  "we"  who  are  called  by 
His  Spirit  ena'bled  and  disposed  to  believe  in  this  glorious  gos- 
pel of  the  blessed  God.  Thus  do  "we  joy  in  God  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  by  whom  we  have  received  the  at-one-ment." 

By  the  sufferings  and  death  of  Christ,  therefore,  as  the  just 
for  the  unjust,  there  is  a  full  provision  made  for  the  certain 
and  infallible  salvation  of  all  His  cliosen  people.  A  perfect 
satisfaction  is  made  to  the  law  and  justice  of  God,  so  that 
there  is  no  longer  any  condemnation  to  them  that  are  in  Christ 
Jesus.  A  full  purchase  has  been  made  of  all  the  blessing  which 
God  covenanted  to  bestow  upon  them  for  whom  Christ  thus 
interposed,  including  the  bestowment  of  God's  holy  Spirit  to 
renew  and  sanctify  their  hearts,  so  that  "as  many  as  are  the 
sons  of  God  they  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  as  a  Spirit  of 
Adoption  whereby  they  cry  Abba  Father."  "Therefore,  being 
justified  by  faith  we  have  peace  with  God  through  our  Lord 
Tesus  Christ." 


618  IMPUTATION. 

Such  is  the  simple,  plain)  and  scriptural  view  we  are  led  by 
this  and  iimiumerable  other  passages  in  the  word  of  God,  to 
take  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  as  a  full,  perfect  and  sufficient 
oblation  and  atoniement  for  the  sins  of  men.  Neither  is  there 
any  other  explianatioo  which  can  be  reasonably  given  of  these 
sufferings. 

It  cannot  with  any  truth  be  said  that  in  these  sufferings 
Jesus  Christ  endured  the  penalties  inflicted,  since,  as  has  been 
sihown.  He  was  personally  free  from  any  sin  by  which  any  such 
penalty  might  be  incurred.  Equally  impossible  is  it  to  imiagine 
that  these  sufferings  Vk'ere  corrective  chastisements,  designed  to 
promote  the  moral  benefit  of  the  sufferer,  since  in  the  man 
Christ  Jesus  there  was  no  moral  obliquity  to  correct.  Neither 
can  these  sufferings  be  accounted  for  on  the  principle  that  they 
were  needful  to  confirm  the  truth  of  the  christian  doctrine  anid 
that  they  were  sent  and  endured  for  this  single  purpose.  For 
if  tliose  doctrines  are  not  in  themselves  true  no  amount  of  suf- 
fering could  make  them  what  they  were  not.  Besides,  these 
doctrines  are  every  where  in  the  word  of  God  made  to  spring 
from  these  very  sufferings  and  to  rest  upon  them  not  as  their 
confirmation  but  as  their  foundation.  And,  further,  it  cannot 
be  reconciled  with  the  priniciples  of  justice  that  God  sihould 
visit  such  severities  upon  an  innocent  and  holy  being  merely 
for  the  confirmation  of  truths  to  which  in  so  many  other  ways 
He  might  hear  abundant  testimony.  Oh,  no!  We  cannot 
obliterate  from  Scripture  the  great  central  doctrine  of  a  suf- 
fering Messiah  that  we  may  thus  free  the  character  of  God 
from  an  unjust  charge  Oif  severity  by  making  that  very  charge 
against  God  by  such  an  unnecessary  infliction  of  such  aggra- 
vated misery. 

Neither  is  it  any  more  satisfactory  to  assign  as  a  reason  for 
the  sufferings  of  Christ  the  establishment  of  the  all-important 
doctrine  of  resurrection  of  the  dead.  For  by  the  same  reason- 
ing it  is  made  apparent  that  God  could  in  other  ways  sufficiently 
exemplify  and  authenticate  this  fact,  as  by  raising  up  to  life 
those  who  were  already  in  their  graves,  without  subjecting  a 
holy  and  innocent  person  to  suffering  and  death  for  the  mere 
purpose  of  rising  again  from  the  dead  in  attestation  of  the 
future  resurrection  of  the  bodies  of  mankind. 


IMPUTATION.  619 

But  it  has  also  been  alleged  that  in  all  the  sufferings  of  the 
blessed  Redeemer  and  in  the  endurance  of  death  itself,  nothing 
more  was  intended  than  a  bright  example  of  christian)  patience, 
fortitude  and. endurance.  But  in  this  view  of  the  aggravated 
mercy  endured  by  the  lamb  of  God,  the  example  most  promi- 
nently set  forth  is  that  of  an  arbitrary  subjectioni  of  the  inno- 
cent to  undeserved,  cruel  and  excruciating  sufferings,  and  since, 
on  this  theory,  their  design  must  ibe  to  elevate  the  character  of 
God  and  not  of  Christ.  The  very  opposite  result  must  take 
place  in  every  ingenious  mind.  We  instinctively  revolt  from 
the  ver)'-  contemplation  of  perfect  virtue  and  holiness  crushed, 
persecuted  and  cast  out  as  evil  and  that  by  both  God  and  man, 
for  the  mere  purpose  of  setting  forth  in  the  conduct  of  the 
unhappy  victim  an  example  of  noble  endurance.  Our  sym- 
pathy in  such  a  supposed  case  with  the  miserable  sufferer  must 
boil  over  in  indignation  against  such  an  arbitrary  exercise  of 
infinite  power.  And  yet  this  is  the  verj'  refuge  to  w"hicli  they 
betake  themselves  vi^'ho  ignorantly  charge  our  doctrine  with 
vindictiveness  and  cruelty.  And  let  it  also  be  remembered  that 
limiting  our  consideration  of  Christ  as  a  sufferer  to  the  single 
view  of  an  exemplar  of  patient  fortitude  in  the  endurance 
of  martyrdom,  we  must  pronounce  the  example  defective  and 
below  others  of  which  we  read  in  the  history  of  man.  God 
has  doubtless  so  ordered  it  that  we  have  preserved  the  histoi-y 
of  such  manifestations  of  infinity  and  weakness  under  the  over- 
whelming pressure  of  His  suft'erings  as  forever  to  destroy  this 
refuge  of  lies  and  to  force  upon  us  the  truth  of  that  myster\'  of 
godliness  which  is  the  only  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth. 

It  is  when'  we  survey  the  doctrine  of  the  cross  in  its  true 
aspect — and  look  upon  Christ  in  His  true  character  as  uniting 
in  His  mysterious  person  the  divine  and  the  human  nature 
that  we  can  truly  understand  the  character  of  His  mediatory 
work  and  perceive  the  glory  of  God  as  it  is  revealed  in  Christ 
Jesus.  When  we  look  out  upon  the  blessed  Saviour  as 
Emmanuel — God  manifest  in  the  flesh — and  as  made  of  a 
woman,  made  under  the  law,  that  by  suft'ering  for  sins,  the  just 
for  the  unjust.  He  might  'bring  us  to  God — then  it  is  we  can 
enter  into  the  feelings  of  the  inspired  writers  who  with  every 
mention  of   this   subject   seem  to  be   filled  with   amazement, 


G30  IMPUTATION. 

admiration,  and  holy  joy.  When  we  thus  behold  the  deserted 
■humanity  of  our  all-glorious  Redeemer,  who  in  His  own  free 
and  infinite  compassion  assumed  our  guilty  and  condemned 
position — borne  down,  crushed  and  sorrowful  even  imto  death; 
and  \\-hen  we  thus  behold  the  Son  of  God  stooping  to  such  a 
depth  of  inconceivable  humiliation,  and  victoriously  accom- 
plishing the  work  of  our  salvation,  and  recompensing  that  very 
humanity  with  ever  enduring  blessedness,  we  can  exultingly 
exclaim :  "God  forbid  that  I  should  gloi-y  save  in  the  cross  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  by  whom  the  world  is  crucified  unto  me  and  I 
unto  the  world."' 


The  Eternal  Sonship  of  Christ 


A  DISCOURSE 

BY  THE 

Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 
Charlestjon,  S.  C. 


THE  ETERNAL  SONSHIP  OF  CHRIST. 


PART  I. 


John  xx  :  31. 

But  these  are  written,  that  ye  might  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  Gospel  of  St.  John  originated  in  the 
prevalence  of  certain  errors,  which,  even  during  the  lifetime  of 
the  Evangelist,  perverted  "the  truth,  as  it  is  in  Jesus,"  and 
impeded  its  progress  and  reception.  The  elders  of  Ephesus, 
and  other  parts  of  Asia,  it  is  said,  requested  the  aged  apostle 
to  give  them  a  remedy  for  the  pernicious  tenets  that  were 
spreading,  and  this  he  provided  in  the  Gospel  he  bequeathed  to 
the  Church,  in  which,  to  meet  the  opposing  tenets  of  contending 
sects,  he  estajblishes  equally  the  humanity  and  the  divinity  of 
the  Redeemer — as  on  the  certainty  of  the  foraier  is  based  the 
reality  of  His  sacrifice ;  and  by  showing  the  truth  of  the  other, 
the  evangelist  sets  forth  the  infinite  value  of  that  sacrifice  in 
the  economy  of  redemption. 

Whatever  confidence  may  be  placed  in  this  statement,  the 
purpose  for  which,  the  gospel  was  penned,  is  declared  explicitly 
in  my  text.  It  was  to  prove  that  the  man  Jesus,  the  reputed 
son  of  Joseph,  "He"  whom  they  had  seen,  and  heard,  and 
looked  upon,  and  their  hands  had  handled ;  that  He  was  the 
Christ — the  Messiah  who  had  been  promised.  I  am  aware 
that  there  are  some  divines  who  would  lower  this  last  applica- 
tion to  a  title  of  office,  who,  though  they  contend  for  the  divin- 
ity of  the  Lord  Jesus,  yet  deny  that  His  filiation  has  any  refer- 
ence to  His  divine  nature  and  assert  that  the  title  of  Son  prop- 
erly belongs  to  the  humanity  of  the  Redeemer,  and  is  bestowed 
upon  Him  in  consequence  of  His  miraculous  conception,  of  His 
resurrection  from  the  dead,  or  of  His  exaltation  to  the  right 
hand  of  glory.  It  might  be  enough  to  say  in  reply  to  this,  that 
the  emphatic  manner  in  which  this  application  is  introduced, 
and  its  frequent  repetition  in  the  same  clause  with  the  name  of 
Christ,  might  suffice  to  prove  that  they  cannot  have  any  identity 
of  meaning;  while  its  frequent  recurrence  in  association  not 


40— Vol.  X. 


626  THE    ETERNAL    SONSHIP    OF    CHRIST. 

with  the  circumstanices  of  the  Messiahship  adverted  to,  but 
with  the  amteoedent  state  of  glory  possessed  by  the  Lord  shows 
that  it  must  bear  a  meaning,  not  derived  from  the  adjuncts  of 
His  office,  but  one  independent  and  connected  with  His  nature. 

In  proposing  to  discuss  this  subject,  the  Somghip  or  filiation 
of  the  Redeemer — I  would  at  present  merely  examine  the  scrip- 
tural evidence  for  that  view  which  our  church  has  adopted: 
reserving  for  another  opportunity  the  consideration  of  the 
objections  to  that  evidence,  and  of  the  essential  importance  of 
the  subject  itself. 

As  our  argument  here  is  not  with  those  who  reject  the  divin»- 
ity  of  the  Redeemer,  and  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  but  with 
those,  who  avowing  these  truths,  deny  that  the  relation 
between  the  first  and  second  persons  of  the  Trinity,  of  paternity 
and  filiation,  is  essential  to  the  Godhead,  and  existed  from  eter- 
nity ;  we  may  appeal  to  the  Scripture  of  the  Old  Testament,  as 
conveying  intimations  to  us  of  a  plurality  of  persons  in  the 
Godhead,  which,  seen  distinctly  in  the  light  reflected  from  the 
New,  evince  the  unity  of  the  faith  in  all  the  varied  dispensa- 
tions of  the  truth.  However  obscure  these  intimations  may 
have  been  to  those  who  received  them,  that  obscurity  served  for 
a  trial  and  discipline  of  their  faith,  and  while  the  imperfect 
Icnowledge  of  the  ancient  church  renders  it  a  more  unexception- 
able witness  of  the  truth  which  they  unknowingly  preserved. 

The  Scriptures  which  contain  intimations,  of  the  distinction 
existing  in  the  Godhead,  point  out  to  us  the  relation  of  ths  per- 
sons, one  bearing  the  mysterious  character  of  Son,  and  another 
that  of  Father.  "Thou  art  my  Son,  this  day  have  I  begotten 
thee,"  is  language  addressed  in  the  name  of  Jehovah  to  one 
who  claims  the  attributes  and  honors  of  divinity  demanding 
universal  worship,  and  receiving  the  promise  of  universal 
dominion.  When  the  inspired  sage  asks  of  him,  who  would 
profess  to  know  the  nature  of  Jehovah,  "what  is  His  name,  and 
what  is  His  Son's  name,  if  thou  canst  tell?"  it  is  surely  not 
an  obscure  intimation,  that  God  has  a  Son  whose  name  is  as 
mysterious  and  inscrutable  as  His  own.  In  another  passage  of 
the  Old  Testament,  the  eternal  generation  of  the  Son  forms 
the  subject  of  prophetic  declaration.  The  Prophet  Micah  in 
predicting  that  the  Messiah  should  be  born  in  Bethlehem,  adds, 


THE    ETERNAL    SONSHIP    OF    CHRIST.  627 

that  "His  goings  forth  have  been  from  of  old,  from  everlast- 
ing." One  other  passage  of  the  Old  Testament  may  be  added, 
which,  though  clothed  in  the  sublime  ohscurity  of  poetic  dic- 
tion, yet  seems  to  be  an  ohvious  description  of  a  person,  and  if 
of  a  person,  of  a  divine  one  co-eternal  with  the  Supreme  and 
related  to  Him  as  a  Son.  The  passage  to  which  I  allude 
declares  in  the  character  of  personified  wisdom — "the  Lord 
possessed  me  in  the  beginning  of  His  ways,  before  His  works 
of  old:  I  was  set  up  from  everlasting,  from  the  beginning,  or 
ever  the  earth  was ;  where  there  were  no  depths  I  was  brought 
forth:  where  there  were  no  fountains  abounding  in  water, 
before  the  mountains  were  settled;  before  the  hills  was  I 
brought  forth."  It  would  be  difficult  to  explain  this  passage 
and  its  context  of  a  mere  personified  attribute:  but  when 
referred  to  a  person  already  familiar  to  the  Israelitish  church 
under  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God,  it  acquires  an  energy  and  a 
force  suitable  to  the  entire  passage. 

We  cannot  be  surprised  that  from  passages  Hke  these,  and 
intimations  so  obvious,  the  distinction  and  relation  of  the  per- 
sons of  the  Godhead  should  be  not  obscurely  perceived  by  the 
ancient  Jewish  church ;  and  that  as  all  of  these  declarations  too 
were  referred  to  the  Messiah,  it  should  be  supposed  that  He 
would  be  possessed  of  a  divine  nature  and  attributes.  There  is 
evidence  that  such  was  the  Jewish  faith,  antecedent  to  the  incar- 
nation; Ijut,  gradually,  temporal  hopes  and  desires  perverting 
the  language  of  prophecy,  obliterated  its  spiritual  meaning  from 
their  minds ;  they  looked  for  a  temporal  Messiah  and  a  tem- 
poral empire ;  while  yet  the  phrase  of  the  "Son  of  God,"  was 
familiar  to  their  minds,  and  seems  to  have  been  invariably  con- 
nected with  the  notion  of  divinity.  This  you  will  perceive,  if 
you  consider  the  passages  of  the  New  Testament,  in  which  this 
title  occurs,  and  the  indications  they-  give  of  the  feelings  and 
opinion's  of  the  Jews.  Such  are  the  remarkable  incidents  men- 
tioned by  St.  John,  when  on  two  different  occasions  the  Jews 
attempted  to  offer  violence  to  Christ,  because  of  His  implicit 
assumption  of  the  Sonship.  "making  Himself,"  as  they 
expressed  it,  "equal  to  God."  What  had  He  done  to  merit  such 
a  charge?  He  had  claimed  God  as  His  own  peculiar  Father — 
He  had  identified  His  works  with  the  works  of  God:  and  while 


628  THE    ETERNAL    SONSHIP    OF    CHRIST. 

He  declared  as  a  Son,  that  all  thmgs  He  had  were  communi- 
catedi  from  the  Father,  He  yet  claimed  equal  hoiiiors  with  Him, 
and  professed  to  equal  works.  Again,  on  a  subsequent  occa- 
sion, when  He  declared  Himself  and  the  Father,  to  be  one,  and 
they  for  the  supposed  blasphemy  prepared  to  stone  Him,  while 
He  points  out  their  inconsistency  in  accusing  Him  of  such  a 
crime — 'although  their  Scriptures  gave  the  title  of  God,  even  to 
those  who  'held  civil  offices  among  theni' — He  yet  repeats  His 
former  assertion,  declaring  Himself  to  have  been  sent  into  the 
world  by  the  Father,  affirming  again  His  claim  to  the  title  of 
Son,  and  identifying  His  works  with  tho'se  of  the  Father,  w^ho 
was  "in  Him,  and  He  in  Him"  —words  which  as  they  implied 
His  pre-existence.  His  antecedent  filiationi,  and  His  divine 
nature,  again  called  forth  the  wrath  of  the  Jews: — "therefore, 
they  sought  again  to  take  Him."  Now,  if  we  conisider  that 
these  same  Jews  were  in  earnest  expectation  of  the  Messiah, 
that  they  had  anxiously  enquired  of  the  Baptist  if  He  were  that 
prophet,  that  they  had  repeatedly  requested  of  the  Lord  to 
satisfy  their  doubts,  "tell  us  if  thoii  be  the  Christ,"  and  this 
without  insinuating  a  charge  of  blasphemy  against  the  assump- 
tion of  Messiahship, — it  must  from  these  facts  appear  plainly, 
that  the  Jews  separated  the  official  title  of  Messiah  from  the 
personal  one  of  Son  of  God,  that  they  deemed  the  latter  title 
to  be  equivalent  to  an  assumption  of  divinity,  and  that  in 
this  opinion  they  were  not  corrected  by  the  Saviour.  Our 
inferences  are  confirmied  by  the  narrative  of  our  Lord's 
examination  before  the  Jewish  Sanhedrim.  He  was  accused 
of  blasphemy,  and  on  His  own  confession  was  condemned ; 
and  for  the  justice  of  it,  they  appealed  to  their  law,  "We 
have  a  law,  and  by  that  law  He  ought  to  die."  What  was 
then  the  blasphemy?  They  tell  us  "He  made  Himself  the  Son 
of  God" — 'this  is  an  assumption  of  divinity,  and  laying  claim  to 
divine  honors,  they  deemed  blasphemy ;  but  in  any  lower  sense, 
such  as  is  included  in  Messiahship,  is  constituted  no  crime,  and 
subjected  the  claimant  to  no  penalty.  We  then  have  in  this 
solemnly  recorded  act  of  the  Jewish  Coimcil,  the  interpretation 
of  the  title  in  question ;  and  in  our  Lord's  answer  to  the  adjura- 
tion of  the  High  Priest  is  as  solemn  an  assent  upon  His  part  to 
the  justice  of  that  interpretation. 


THE    ETERNAL,    SONSHIP    OF    CHRIST.  629 

Nor  is  this  coiiiclusion  inconsistent  with  the  other  passages 
in  which  the  title  is  given  to,  or  assumed  by,  the  Saviour  in,  the 
Gospel  history.  All  those  passages  in  which  the  love  of  the 
Father  is  magnified,  is  conisequence  of  giving  up  His  Son  to 
suffer  death,  the  sinless  for  the  sinful,  would  imply  this  gener- 
ation,— for  the  tendency  oi  such  passages  is  to-  lead  the  mind 
to  contemplate  a  Father's  agonies  in  the  sacrifice  of  His  Son, 
and  thence  to  estimate  the  exceeding  love  of  God  towards  His 
sinful  creatures.  H  Christ  be  a  Son  only  as  tO'  His  human 
nature,  great  as  is  that  love  which  would  accept  the  sacrifice  of 
Him  who  was  conceived  and  generated  for  that  very  purpose; 
yet  assuredly,  it  is  infinitely  more  conspicuous  if  we  consider 
the  eternal  Son,  the  only  begotten,  the  well  beloved  of  the  eter- 
nal Father,  thus  subjected  by  Him  tO'  the  temporary  divestment 
of  His  glory,  the  voluntary  union  with  the  tlesh,  and  all  the 
awful  mysterious  coinsequences  that  ensued. 

Another  class  of  texts,  bearing  directly  on  the  same  subject, 
are  tho'se  in  which  our  Lord  is  termed  "only  begotten,"  or  "the 
only  begotten  of  the  Father."  How  can  Christ  be  the  only 
begotten  except  as  to  His  divine  nature?  As  to  His  human, 
it  was,  indeed,  formed  by  the  immediate  creative  power  of 
God,  but  in  this  respect,  it  did  not  stand  solitary  among  exist- 
ences; for  the  first  Adam  too,  was  the  result  of  immediate  crea- 
tion, and  hence,  by  the  Evangelist  is  called  the  Soo  of  God. 
Is  Christ  a  Son  in  no  higher  sense  than  Adam?  because  He  is 
heir  of  all  things,  for  therefore  He  is  heir  because  He  is  Son, 
and  not  Son  because  He  is  'heir — "He  has  spoken  to  us  by  His 
Son,  whom  He  hath  appointed  heir  of  all  things."  There 
remains  hut  one  other  sense  to  be  affixed  to  this  epistle,  "only 
begotten,"  in  His  divine  nature — sole  in  His  pre-existent  and 
divine  essence  wherein  He  was  "the  Son  of  the  living  God." 

Another  class  of  texts  strongly  confirmatory  of  our  view,  is 
that  of  those  in  which  the  Feather  is  said  to  have  sent  His  Son. 
in  which  the  relation  of  Him  w^ho  is  sent,  and  of  Him  who  com- 
missions, is  stated  as  existing  antecedent  to  the  mission.  It  is. 
the  Son  who  is  sent,  not  the  second  person  O'f  the  Trinity  who 
is  constituted  a  Son  by  being  sent; — it  is  the  Father  who 
sends,  not  who  becomes  a  Father  by  the  ministry  He  confers. 
The  Word  is  sent,  not  to  he  a  Son,  but  to  become  flesh,  to 


630  THE    ETERNAL    SONSHIP    OF    CHRIST. 

become  a  propitiation  to  take  upon  Him  the  form  of  a  servant ; 
nor  is  there  any  intimation,  that  the  character  of  a  Son,  though 
esseential  to  the  fulfilment  of  the  mission,  formed  a  part  of  it. 
One  of  the  most  remarkable  instances  of  this  occurs  in  a  pas- 
sage before  referred  to,  where  the  Jews  accusing  Jesus  of  blas- 
phemy for  calling  Himself  God,  He  replies,  "is  it  not  written 
in  your  law,  ye  are  gods?  If  he  called  them  Gods  unto  whom 
the  word  of  God  came,  and  the  Scriptures  cannot  be  broken, 
say  ye  of  Him  whom  the  Father  hath  sanctified  and  sent  into 
the  world,  thou  blasphemest  because  I  said,  I  am  the  Son  of 
God?"  Now,  Jesus,  though  He  had  claimed  in  His  previous 
discourse,  identity  with  the  Father,  had  not  distinctly  called 
Himself  the  Son  of  God,  which  therefore  must  be  regarded  as 
implied  in  that  assumption;  and  again,  that  He  does  not  say 
sanctified  and  sent  by  God,  but  by  the  Father,  to  show  ;that  the 
relation  of  Father  had  existed  antecedent  to  the  mission,  as  He 
said  on  another  occasion,  "I  came  forth  from  the  Father,  and 
am  come  into  the  world ;  again,  I  leave  the  world,  and  go  unto 
the  Father." 

In  connection  with  this  numerous  class  of  texts,  are  those  in 
which  creation  and  other  divine  acts  are  ascribed  to  the  Son, 
"by  whom  He  made  the  worlds,"  "by  Him  were  all  things 
created."  It  is  true,  that  this  argument  is  weakened  by  con- 
sidering that  since  the  divine  and  human  nature  of  the 
Redeemer  are  united  in  one  person,  an  interchange  of  epithets 
takes  place,  and  acts  belonging  properly  to  the  divine  nature, 
are  asserted  as  being  performed  by  the  human;  and  again, 
what  is  strictly  true  of  the  Man,,  is  predicted  of  the  Deity ; — 
thus  "God"  is  said  to  have  "purchased  His  Church  with  His 
own  blood,"  and  "the  Son  of  man,"  even  during  our  Lord's 
ministry,  was  said  "to  be  in  heaven."  This  consideration  is 
just:  and  if  the  Sonship  of  Christ  were  proved  applicable  only 
to  His  human  nature,  it  would  explain  such  passages  as  I  have 
referred  to ;  but  taken  in  connection  with  the  many  reasons  we 
have  for  deeming  the  fiHation  to  be  divine,  these  passages  must 
be  acknowledged  to  possess  some  weight,  particularly,  as  has 
been  justly  remarked,  if  the  Son  be  not  a  personal  designation, 
none  such  occurs  in  Scripture — all  other  names  of  Christ  being 
official  or  indistinctive.     He  is  God,  and  Jehovah  in  common 


THE    ETERNAL    SONSHIP    OF    CHRIST.  631 

with  the  Father  amd  the  Spirit — He  is  Lord,  and  Christ,  and 
King,  and  Prophet,  in  His  ministerial  character — ^and  eveii  the 
name  of  Word,  though  it  marks  His  pre-existent  sitate,  has  yet 
direct  reference  to  the  manifestation  and-  development  of  the 
divine  councils,  and  is  therefore  am  official  designation.  Hence, 
if  the  Son  be  not  a  personal  appellation,  and  conoectcd  with 
His  divine  nature,  Christ  has  none  such,  and  therefore,  the  very 
objection  we  are  discussing  is  overthrown,  as  there  can  then 
be  no  interchange  of  designations. 

I  shall  call  your  attention  only  to  another  passage  of  the 
word  of  God,  but  to  one  that  seems  to  me  decisive  of  the  point 
at  issue.  In  Romans  1  the  apostle  says  of  Jesus  Christ,  that 
He  "was  made  of  the  seed  of  David  according  to  the  flesh,  and 
declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  with  power  according  to  the 
Spirit  of  holiness  by  the  resurrection  from  the  dead."  It  is 
obvious  that  in  this  text,  the  apostle  is  speaking  of  Christ,  not 
officially,  but  personally;  and  it  is  equally  obvious  that  His 
human  nature  is  stated  in  the  former  clause,  "the  seed  of  David 
according  to  the  flesh,"  and  that  except  we  convict  the  apostle 
of  a  cold  and  frigid  repetition  altogether  alien  from  liis  style, 
the  remaining  clause  must  express  His  divine  nature,  the  Son 
of  God  according  to  the  "Spirit  of  holiness."  Of  His  descent 
from  David,  no  proof  was  necessary,  but  of  His  claim  to  be  the 
Son  of  God,  His  resurrection  was  the  powerful  and  effective 
evidence.  This  claim  was  the  ground  of  His  condemnation); 
and  He  had  Himself  appealed  to  His  resurrection  as  the  pledge 
and  evidence  of  His  mission.  The  phrase  "the  Spirit  of  holi- 
ness" indicates  holiness ;  and  thus,  that  the  words  according  to 
the  unexceptionable  authority  of  Schleusner  implies  "the  glori- 
ous Spirit  and  divine  majesty"  of  the  Messiah,  a  phrase  suffi- 
ciently indicative  of  the  divinity  of  His  nature. 

Additional  and  cogent  considerations  might  be  presented 
from  the  baptismal  invocation,  where  the  distinctive  appella- 
tions of  the  sacred  three  persons  exhibit  the  first  eminently  as 
a  Father,  and  the  second  as  a  Son  :  and  from  such  a  text  as  this 
in  Hebrews  in  which  Christ  is  said  "although  a  Son  to  have 
learned  obedience  by  suffering;"  a  statement  that  presents  no 
meaning  worthy  of  the  apostle,  except  we  understand  a  Son- 
ship  higher  than  mere  humanity,  which  as  humanity  can  claim 


632  THE    ETERNAL    SONSHIP    OF    CHRIST. 

no  exemption  from  suffering.  But  enough  has  been  said  upon 
the  scriptural  argument  to  show  how  the  doctrine  of  the  divine 
fiHation  of  the  Messiah  pei'vades  the  word  of  God ;  and  that, 
making  every  deduction  that  can  be  rightfully  claimed  for 
ambiguous  or  obscure  texts — it  must,  I  think,  be  admitted,  that 
whatever  other  m.eanings  may  be  found  in  Scripture  for  the 
title  of  "Son  of  God" — ^passages  occur  inexplicable  but  on  the 
view  that  chrisitian  antiquity  and  our  church  have  taken  of  the 
subject,  enshrined  by  the  former  in  those  creeds,  that  are 
adopted  and  maintained  by  the  other. 

On  a  future  occasion,  I  would  seek  to  consider  ithe  subject  in 
its  other  'bearings — to  examine  the  objections  against  the  doc- 
trine, whether  metaphysical  or  scriptural,  and  to  sihow  its  inti- 
mate and  close  connection  with  the  truths  that  lie  at  the  very 
foundation  of  our  faith. 


PART  II. 
John  xx:  31. 

But  these  are  v/ritten,  that  ye  might  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the 
Son   of  God. 

When  last  I  made  this  text  the  subject  of  an  address,  it  was 
my  object  to  impress  on  my  brethren  the  scriptural  character  of 
a  doctrine,  which,  though  maintained  by  the  early  churches, 
and  stated  in  the  creed  equally  of  primitive  and  Protestant 
Christianity,  has  been^  in  too  many  instances,  denied  as 
unfounded,  or  neglected  as  unimportant — I  mean  the  revealed 
revelation  of  the  second  person  of  the  ever  Blessed  Trinity  to 
the  first  as  His  Son,  His  only  begotten  Son,  ''begotten  by  His 
Father,  before  all  worlds."  This  relation  dimly  shadows  out 
to  us  the  communicatio'n  from  the  Father  of  the  entireness  of 
the  divine  essemce,  property,  andi  nature,  a  communication 
which  dates  from  the  eternity  co-existent  with  that  relation, 
and  which  is  employed  in  sacred  writ  to  increase  our  adoring 
wonder  at  the  love  of  God  which  "spared  not  His  own  Son.  but 
gave  Him  up  to  die  for  sinners." 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  title  of  Son  of  God,  standing  as 
it  does  in  contrast  with  His  other  title  of  Son  of  Man,  preseiiits 
a  problem  that  danands  solution.     If  to  be  Son  of  Man  would 


THE    ETERXAL    SOXSHIP    OF    CHRIST.  GHS 

seem  to  imply  the  full  participation  of  human  nature,  which  as 
descended  from  a  human  being  constituted  Him  a  Son:  so, 
Son  of  Gocl  would  seem  to  imply  an  equal  participation  of  the 
divine  nature,  and  in  the  same  relation  as  a  Son ;  and  this  dis- 
tinction is  strengthened  by  observing  the  various  and  contradic- 
tor}- views  to  which  those  who  deny  the  eternal  generation  have 
in  turn  been  found  to  have  recourse,  in  order  to  account  for  the 
application  of  this  remarkable  title. 

Tihus  one  class  of  divines  assert  that  the  human  nature  of 
Christ  alone  is  entitled  to  the  name  of  Son.  Others  assign  the 
claim  to  that  title  to  the  resurrection :  while  others  limit  it  to 
the  exaltatioii  of  the  Saviour  in  the  flesh  to  the  throne  of  glory. 
A  late  antagonist  of  this  truth — denying  that  either  the  human 
or  the  divine  nature  separately  could  be  called  a  Son. — ^assigns 
the  union  of  the  two  into  one  person  as  the  cause  of  the  appella- 
tion. 

It  might  be  sufficient  to  reply  to  all  these — that  they  are 
severally  inadequate  to  explain  the  facts  clearly  stated  in  Scrip- 
ture; that  Christ  is  acknowledged  as  Son  of  God  by  those  to 
whom  His  inicarnation.  His  resurrection,  His  consequent  glory, 
were  unknown;  that  the  title  was  one  acknowledged  by  the 
Jews  from  the  Ok!  Testamerut  Scriptures,  to  imply  by  the  very 
force  of  the  api>el.lation — ^that  the  possessor  had  the  fulness  of 
the  divine  essence;  and  that  the  language  distinctly  intimates 
a  peculiarity  of  nature,  and  not  a  mere  official  designation. 
We  acknowdiedge  that  the  formation  of  the  human  nature  of 
Christ  may  confer  a  species  of  Sonship  similar  to  that  which 
creation  bestowed  on  Adam;  but,  who  does  not  perceive  an 
immeasurable  distance  between  the  way  in  which  his  filiation 
is  spoken  of,  as  compared  with  that  of  the  Lord  from  heaven? 

We  can  perceive  a  figurative  propriety  in  calling  Him  a  Son, 
who  was  "the  first  begotten  of  the  dead"  from  the  womb  of  the 
earth  ;  but  the  title  is  claimed,  and  given  as  one  intimating 
peculiar  excellence  of  nature ;  and  while  we  glory  that  as  a  Son 
all  the  angels  of  God  worship  the  Lord  Jesus — that  worship  is 
ilerived  from  "the  excellent  name"  which  by  inheritance  is  His, 
through  which  even  ?Iis  human  nature  is  rewarded  with 
supremacy  of  glory. 


634  THE    ETERNAL    SONSHIP    OF    CHRIST. 

While,  then,  we  acknowledge  that  the  title  of  Son  is  given 
to  the  Lord  in  connection  with  His  incarnation,  His  resurrec- 
tion, His  exaltation  to  the  right  hand  of  glory,  we  yet  assert  an 
antecedenit  filiation  of  the  Saviour,  one  oi  nature,  not  of  char- 
acter or  ofifice; — one  eternal,  and  not  dated  in  time; — one 
which,  if  we  may  venture  so  to  say,  confers  peculiar  propriety 
on  His  designation  to  these  His  several  offices. 

It  must  be  unnecessary  to  argue,  that  neither  the  resurrection 
or  the  ascension  glory  could  be  the  cause  of  this  title.  He  was 
repeatedly  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  antecedent  to  His 
resurrection,  and  this  designation  is  one  riot  of  office  or  dignity, 
but  significant  of  a  peculiar  excellency  of  nature;  essential  and 
personal,  not  accidental  ot  by  appointment; — "to  which  of  the 
angels,"  asks  St.  Paul,  "said  He  at  any  time,  thou  art  my  Son, 
this  day  have  I  begotten  thee?" — a  passage  quoted  by  the  apos- 
tle from  a  Psalm  eminently  descriptive  of  the  divine  nature  of 
Christ,  and  which  intimated  by  the  word  "begotten,"  the 
emphatic  difference  betv^^een  the  Redeemer  and  all  angelic 
natures.  He  was  the  Son,  not  by  adoption  or  appointment,  but 
'by  the  ineffable  communication  oi  the  one  divine  essence. 

We  have  now  noticed  the  different  theories  that  have  been 
advanced,  to  account  for  the  frequent  ascription  of  the  title  of 
Son  of  God  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  time  that  we  should 
briefly  consider  objections,  objections  I  mean  independent  of 
the  intei-pretation  of  Scripture,  and  the  arguments  thence 
derived.  In  truth,  all  the  difficulties  professed  to  be  enter- 
tained, are  based  upon  the  analogies  derived  from  human  rela- 
tions, and  from  the  assumption  that  such  are  strictly  to  be 
applied  to  the  divine  nature.  If  such  an  application  be  con- 
ceded, then,  indeed,  the  doctrine  must  be  allowed  to  present  an 
aspect  scarcely  to  be  reconciled  to  reason;  and,  we  are  more- 
over, driven  to  assert  that  the  legitimate  deductions  from  the 
language  of  Scripture  are  opposed  to  the  obvious  principles  of 
common  senise.  But,  such  surely  is  not  the  case;  and  while 
we  admit,  nay,  maintain,  that  the  analogy  is  clearly  intimated  in 
the  words  of  holy  writ,  and  even  made  the  foundation  of 
important  and  instructive  teaching,  we  deny  that  in  its  applica- 
tion to  the  essential  character  of  the  most  High,  it  cani  be  made 
to  run  altogether  parallel  to  the  circumstances  of  humanity. 


THE    ETERNAL    SONSHIP    OF    CHRIST.  635 

Soii>,  it  has  been  said,  implies  a  Father,  and  Father  implies  in 
reference  to  Son,  priority  in  time.  Sonship,  too,  imphes 
derivation  of  essence;  and  hence,  if  Christ  be  a  Son  in  His 
divine  nature,  He  cannot  be  eternal  in  His  duration,  nor  all 
perfect  in  His  existence — He  cannot  be  God. 

To  this  it  may  be  sufficient  to  reply,  that  although  among  men 
the  relation  intimated  by  the  word  Son,  supposes  the  priority  of 
a  father  as  a  man,  it  does  not  imply  his  priority  as  a  father ; 
that  before  a  mian  can  be  capable  of  the  relation  of  a  father,  he 
must  have  been  born,  and  come  tO'  maturity ;  but  that  this  can- 
not possibly  apply  to  Him  v^ho  is  "from  everlasting  to  everlast- 
ing God,"  whose  existence  is  necessary,  whose  essential  modes 
and  relations  are  necessary,  and  therefore  eternal,  li  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity  be  true,  then  must  the  distinct  personality 
of  the  Godhead  be  admitted  as  an  eternal  truth ;  but  if  the  per- 
son be  co-existent,  and  the  modes  of  relation  necessary,  then 
there  can  be  no  priority  of  existence  in  the  Father,  as  a  father, 
since  this  is  a  mode  co-eternal  with  the  infinite  duration  of  the 
Godhead.  God  is  revealed  to  us  as  operating  ad  extra,  in  crea- 
tion providence,  and  redemption;  as  invested  with  certain  per- 
fections, such  as  wisdom,  goodness,  mercy,  power ;  and  also 
as  possessing  certain  internal  personal  distinctions  by  which, 
though  united  in  one  Godhead,  the  Father,  and  the  Son  and  the 
Spirit,  are  distinguished.  These  three  persons  cannot  be  three 
distinct  and  independent  Beings ;  for  this  would  be  to  make 
three  gods :  nor  can  their  ground  of  distinction  be  the  works 
ad  extra;  for  no  one  person  acts  exclusively  of  the  other:  nor 
yet  is  it  the  possession  of  any  divine  perfection;  for  each  pos- 
sess them  aHke  and  in  an  infinite  degree.  Are  we  then  pre- 
sumptuous in  saying  that  Father,  Son  and  Spirit,  are  the  real 
and  personal  modes  of  subsistence  in  the  one  infinite  God 
that  they  have  essential  distinctive  characters,  corresponding  in 
some  degree  with  the  terms,  begetting,  begotten,  and  proceed- 
ing? 

Nor  do  we  admit  that  this  scriptural  truth  is  overturned  by 
the  assertion  that  Christ,  if  not  absolutely  and  originally  God, 
must  be  inferior  to  the  Father  from  whom  He  receives  the 
divine  essence,  that  He  cannot  be  self-existent,  or  independent, 
and  therefore  cannot  be  God.     That  the  doctrine  we  would 


(>'!G  THE    ETERNAL    SOXSHIP    OF    CHRIST. 

defend,  includes  in  it  the  communication  of  the  divine  essence 
we  acknowleiige,  for  this  is  the  very  generation^  for  which  we 
plead ;  but  admitting  this,  we  deny  the  consequence  that  our 
adversaries  would  deduce,  or  that  there  is  any  inferioTity  of 
nature,  or  essence,  or  attributes  im  the  Son.  In  the  communi- 
cation of  nature  among  men,  w^e  see  no  inferiority,  nor  is  the 
Son,  in  anything  essential  to  manhood,  below  the  father;  arud 
the  very  idea  of  the  gemeration-  of  the  son  marks  the  coimmum- 
catioii  of  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead,  vvithoiit  difference,  ine- 
quality, or  division.  Hence,  is  the  Son  declared  tO'  be  "the 
image  of  God,"  "the  effulgence  of  the  Father's  glory,  and  the 
express  image  of  His  person,"  hence  is  it  said,  that  "as  the 
Father  has  life  in  Himself,  so  has  He  given  to  the  Son.  to  have 
hfe  in  Himself;"  hence  does  our  blessed  Lord  say,  "all  things 
that  the  Father  bath  are  mine."  H  to  exist  by  the  necessity  of 
His  own  nature  be  self-existence,  then  is  the  Son  of  God  self- 
existent  ;  for  this  relation  tO'  the  Father  is  necessary  and  essen- 
tial, and  it  includes  too,  all  the  independence  that  is  included 
in,  or  connected  with  iniinite  perfection!. 

There  are  others  who  object  not  to  the  truth  of  the  filiation 
of  Christ,  but  to  its  importance,  and  whO'  insist  that  provided 
the  doctrine  of  iriis  essential  divinity  be  maintained,  that  of  His 
eternal  Somship  is  a  matter  of  comparative  indifference :  nay, 
that  as  diminis'hing  the  difficulties  connected  with  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity,  it  wouldi  be  wiser  tO'  relinquish  its  inculcatiorn. 
But  to  disregard  as  unimportant  a  doctrine  that  has  scriptural 
foundation,  must  be  conisidered  as  rather  irreverent  treatment 
of  the  word  of  God,  and  as  setting  up  human  reason  as  the 
judge  of  what  a  revelation  should  contain  that  savours  rather 
of  the  school  of  Socinus  than  of  Paul.  Such  views,  too,  must 
necessarily  lead  to  a  lax  interpretation  of  the  passages  of 
.Scriptures  connected  with  the  subject,  that  must  tend  to  immi- 
nent danger  if  apphed  to  the  rest  of  the  .sacred  volume.  But 
that  doctrine  cannot  be  unimiportant  which  involves  the  relation 
between  the  persons  of  the  Trinity  which,  if  adinitted',  estab- 
lishes most  perfectly  the  unity  of  the  essence  O'f  the  Godhead, 
with  the  distinctive  personality.  "The  Father,"  says  Bishop 
Bull,  in  his  immortal  work,  "is  the  principle  oi  the  Son  and 
Spirit,  and  both  are  propagated  from  Him  by  an  interior  pro- 


THE    ETERNAL    SOXSHIP    OF    CHRIST.  637 

ductiori',  not  an  external  one — hence  it  is  that  they  are  not  only 
of  the  Father,  but  in  Him,  and  the  Father  in  them,  and  that 
one  person  cannot  be  separate  from  another  in  the  Holy  Trin- 
ity, as  three  human  powers,  or  three  subjects  of  the  same 
species  are  separate;  and  whatever  opiniom  we  miay  fo'fm  of 
such  S'latememts,  which  speak  the  language  of  christian  antiq- 
uity, they,  at  all  events,  prove  both  the  catholicity,  and  the 
importance  oif  the  doctrine." 

This  doctrine,  too,  throws  light  upon  the  truths  of  atone- 
ment, while  it  immeasurably  exalts  the  love  of  God  in  its  econ- 
omy. By  the  equality,  and  yet  the  subordination,  of  the  Son, 
we  can  perceive  the  propriety  of  the  work  of  redemption  being 
committed  to  Him,  w^ho  as  Son  could  be  sent,  and  as  God  con- 
ferred infinite  value  on  the  sacrifice:  while,  as  Episcopius,  no 
very  willing  witness,  remarks,  "the  splendour  and  glory  of  the 
divi-ne  love  towards  the  human  race,  shines  with  far  greater 
intensity  if  we  consider  God  as  not  sparing  His  own  Son,  His 
Son  in  the  d'ivine  nature,  than  if,  limiting  the  expression  toi  the 
humanit)'  of  Christ,  we  lower  the  unspeakable  gift  of  God  to 
that  of  a  mian  only."  The  Trinity  stands  firmly  based  on 
scriptural  evidence ;  it  is  essentially  connected  with  all  the  doc- 
trines of  grace — its  difficulties  are  great  only  to  the  pride  of 
unrestrained  human  nature,  or  the  indolence  of  contented  igno- 
rance, or  the  corruption  that  loves  darkness  rather  than  light, 
from  moral  not  intellectual  incapacity ;  nor  is  it  likely  that  we 
shall  serve  the  cause  of  one  all-important  truth,  by  the  sacrifice 
of  another  as  scriptural  though  not  so  important,  or  procure 
even  an  apparent  reception  for  one  unpalatable  doctrine  by  the 
surrender  of  another.  All  truth  is  good^ — all  scriptural  truth 
is  eminently  so ;  nor  can  we  with  our  limited  faculties,  and  our 
ignorance  of  the  nature  of  mind,  venture  to  assign  bounds  to 
the  influence  of  any  one  tloctrine,  its  relation  to  others  whiich 
appear  to  us  more  important,  or  the  power  it  may  exercise  over 
the  intellect  and  conscience  of  those  tO'  whom  it  may  be  pre- 
sented. If  the  Sonship  of  the  divine  Redeemer  be  a  revealed 
truth;  if  the  clear  intimation  of  Scripture,  the  consent  oi  Jew- 
ish tradition,  the  statements  of  the  Saviour — ^all  lead  us  to  the 
adoption  of  this  truth ;  if  the  various  modes  of  interpretation 
suggested  to  get  rid  of  the  doctrine,  appear  vain  and  unsup- 


638  THE    ETERNAL    SONSHIP    OF    CHRIST. 

ported,  and  the  difficulties  supposed  to  clog  its  reception),  have 
been  proved  to  arise  from  mistaken  analogies,  and  obscure  and 
misty  metaphysics; — if,  finally,  this  doctrine  has  been  proved 
to  be  important,  as  connected  with  other  parts  of  the  Gospel 
revelation,  and  important  in  itself,  that  its  reception  harmonizes 
apparently — conflicting  statements,  and  its  truth  presents  a 
barrier  against  opposed,  but  equally  pernicious  errors  : — let  not, 
my  brethren,  the  bold  and  unguarded  assertions  of  a  careless 
and  speculating  age,  lead  you  to  surrender  one  shred  of  that 
truth,  which  you  are  exhorted  "to  buy  and  sell  not ;"  looking  in 
/the  spirit  of  your  church,  with  reverence  upon  the  dictates  of 
antiquity,  still  search  the  Scriptures  for  yourselves,  and  bring 
all  other  teaching  to  the  test  of  the  word  of  God — search  with 
humility,  with  diligence,  with  prayer;  and  "if  you  incline  your 
ear  to  consider,  and  apply  your  heart  to  understanding — if  you 
cry  after  knowledge,  and  lift  up  your  voice  for  understanding — 
if  you  seek  her  as  silver,  and  search  for  her  as  for  hid  treas- 
ure," the  promise  of  the  most  High  is  registered— "then  shalt 
thou  understand  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  find  the  knowledge 
of  God."  May  the  Lord  the  Father  grant  you  grace,  by  the 
enlightening  influence  of  the  Lord  the  Spirit,  to  know  and  to 
"hold  fast  the  faith  committed  to  the  saints,"  that  ye  may 
receive  the  all-important  truth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son 
of  the  living  God;  so  through  the  justifying  ''righteousness  of 
one  God  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,"  you  may  be  made  "perfect, 
established,,  strengthened."  "To  Him  be  glory  and  dominion, 
for  ever  and  ever.     Amen!" 


The 

Theory  of  a  General  Atonement 

Examined. 


BY 

The  R^v.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 
Charleston,  S.  C. 


May,  1848. 

41— Vol.  X, 


THE  THEORY  OF  A  GENERAL  ATONE- 
MENT EXAMINED. 


Eph.  1 : 4-7. 

According  as  He  hath  chosen  us  in  Him  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  that  we  should  be  holy  and  without  blame  before  Him  in  love : 

Having  predestinated  us  unto  the  adoption  of  children  by  Jesus  Christ 
to  Himself,  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  His  will : 

To  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  His  grace,  wherein  He  hath  made  us 
accepted  in  the  beloved : 

In  whom  we  have  redemption  through  His  blood,  the  forgiveness  of 
sins,  according  to  the  riches  of  His  grace. 

There  are  two  theories  of  atonement  among  those  who 
receive  this  doctrine  as  the  great  cardinal  doctrine  of  the 
gospel.  The  essence  of  that  doctrine  is  that  Christ  came  into 
the  world  for  the  purpose  of  making  by  the  sacrifice  of  Him- 
self an  atonement  for  sin,  according  to  the  Scripture  which 
says,  "but  now  once  in  the  end  of  the  world  hath  He  appeared 
to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  Himself."  The  putting 
away  sin  means  the  expiation  of  its  guilt  and  the  consequent 
prevention  of  its  penal  effects.  The  effect  of  Christ's  atone- 
ment!, therefore,  is  redemption  of  those  who  had  become 
enslaved  to  the  bondage  of  sin  and  amenable  to  all  its  dreadful 
consequences.  Redemption  is  synonymous  with  salvation — it 
is  redemption  to  God  from  bondage,  from  death,  from  the 
curse  of  the  law,  from  all  iniquity. 

Redemption,  therefore,  is  the  benefit  or  blessing  only  of 
those  who  are  actually  and  finally  saved — that  is,  of  those  who 
are  denominated  elect.  (Tt.  2:10.)  It  would  follow  that 
atonement  and  redemption  must  be  coextensive,  since  they  are 
correlative,  redemption  being  the  benefits  of  which  atonement 
is  the  price  or  meritorious  ground.  And  thus  Christ  the  Good 
Shepherd  is  represented  as  having  laid  down  His  life  for  the 
sheep,  and  to  ihave  purchased  the  church  with  His  own  blood. 

Such  is  the  doctrine  taught  in  our  standards  and  adopted  by 
all  the  reformed  churches,  at  least  in  their  early  history.  To 
this  doctrine,  however,  there  are  two  modern  opposing  theories, 
one  of  which  is  called  the  Arminian  from  Arminius,  by  whom 
it  was  introduced.  According  to  this  theory  the  atonement  is 
represented  as  indefinite  or  universal,  having  reference  to  God 


644  THEORY  OF  A  GENERAL  ATONEMENT  EXAMINED. 

and  not  to  man.  It  is,  on  God's  part,  a  mode  of  indicating  His 
character  and  government  and  of  opening  up  the  way  for  the 
offer  and  the  gift  of  salvation  to  mankind  universally  The 
atonement,  however,  on  this  theory  secures  the  salvation  of 
no  one,  having  no  reference  to  a  covenant  of  grace  and  pur- 
pose of  election  on  the  one  hand  nor  to  individual  sinners  on 
the  other.  Personal  salvation  is  secured  by  the  personal  appli- 
cation of  the  Holy  Spirit  working  in  the  soul  faith  and  holiness. 

The  more  recent  theory  is  that  commonly  known  by  the 
term  "general  atoinemeot."  According  to-  this  theory  the 
atonement  is  in  its  owni  nature,  efficacy  and  design,  universal, 
governmental,  and  without  any  necessary  or  natural  connec- 
tion with  the  salvation  of  individual  men.  It  becomes  effi- 
cacious, however,  according  to  the  sovereign  elective  purpose 
of  God,  and  the  consequent  application  made  of  it  to  the  soul 
by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

According  to  both  theories  the  atonement  is  an  appropriate 
revelation  of  that  displeasure  against  sin  which  it  both  deserved 
and  demanded  at  the  hands  of  God,  and  without  which  God 
could  not  pardon  or  pass  it  by. 

Now  to  both  these  theories  there  are  inseparable  objections. 

1.  In  the  first  place  they  are  not  scriptural.  All  the  pas- 
sages in  which  a  general  reference  is  made  to  the  salvation  of 
all  can  easily  be  reconciled  with  those  that  teach  the  special 
bearing  of  Christ's  atonement  upon  the  certain  salvation  of 
those  for  whom  it  was  designed. 

2.  They  are  entirely  derogatory  to  the  character  of  God. 
It  may  be  assumed  as  an  uncontrovertible  axiom  that  under 
the  righteous  and  perfect  government  of  God  there  can  be  no 
suffering  where  there  is  no  sin.  God,  therefore,  could  not, 
and  would  not,  inflict  suffering  upon  His  own  Son  for  the 
mere  purpose  of  making  an  appropriate  revelation  of  His  dis- 
pleasure against  the  sins  of  men.  God  could  not  be  unjust 
and  cruel  to  the  Saviour  in  order  to  show  how  He  hated  the 
crimes  of  the  sinner.  God  is  just  and  He  could  not  inflict 
suffering  where  it  was  not  due.  On  the  supposition  that 
Christ  stood  by  His  own  voluntary  choice  in  the  place  of  His 
redeemed,  and  that  Christ's  guilt  was  assumed  by  Him  so  that 
He  became  a  curse  and  sin  for  them — then,  and  not  otherwise, 


THEORY  OF  A  GENERAL   ATONEMENT   EXAMINED.  645 

could  the  sword  of  divine  justice  awake  against  the  man  who 
was  God's  fellow. 

3.  These  theories  leave  the  whole  difficulty  unmoved.  The 
separation  between  God  and  man  was  made  by  sin,  and  by  sin 
only.  Now,  a  demonstration  of  God's  hatred  of  sin  does  not 
remove  or  take  it  away.  It  only  makes  it  more  necessary  that 
God  will  not  allow  it  to  go  unpunished  and  more  certain  that 
He  will  punish  it. 

4.  These  theories  destroy  the  very  doctrine  they  are  designed 
to  explain.  For  if  the  whole  object  of  the  atonement  be  to 
teach  or  reveal  the  truth  that  God  hates  sin,  surely  this  could 
be  taught  in  some  other  way  than  by  the  exhibition  of  God's 
Son  dying  on  the  cross,  while  at  the  very  moment  He  was 
neither  sinful  personally  nor  representatively.  The  atone- 
ment, if  it  is  not  regarded  as  the  infliction  of  suffering  in 
Christ  as  the  representative  and  substitute  of  His  people,  does 
not  teach  God's  abhorence  of  sin,  but  His  willingness,  by  an 
arbitrary  decree  and  contrary  to  justice,  to  inflict  sufifering 
upon  one  who  was  holy,  harmless  and  undefiled. 

5.  These  theories,  therefore,  destroy  the  justice  of  God. 
For  if  justice  demands  the  punishment  of  sin,  they  represent 
God  as  not  punishing  the  guilty,  but  as  punishing  the  guiltless. 

6.  These  theories  are  equally  destructive  to  the  veracity  of 
God,  since  God  declared  that  He  would  inflict  the  penalty  of 
sin  upon  the  sinner.  The  sinner,  therefore,  or  one  who  was 
able,  willing  and  allowed  to  assume  the  sinner's  guilt,  must 
be  punished,  or  otherwise  God  is  made  a  liar.  But  by  these 
theories  God  does  not  punish  the  sinner,  nor  one  who  repre- 
sents sinners  and  has  assumed  their  actual  guilt,  and  thus  does 
God  deny  Himself. 

7.  These  theories  destroy  all  connection  between  the  atone- 
ment and  the  human  race.  It  is  made  to  belong  as  much  to 
angels,  to  devils,  to  the  universe,  as  to  mankind,  since  it  equally 
and  as  powerfully  teaches  God's  abhorence  of  sin  to  the  one  as 
to  the  other— and  to  all  alike.  But  as  the  Scriptures  every- 
where represent  the  atonement  as  having  special  reference  to 
mankind  these  theories  must  be  false. 

8.  These  theories  cannot  be  allowed  to  define  an  atonement 
at     all — which    implies    an    agreement,    a    ransom    paid    and 


646  THEORY  OF  A  GENERAL  ATONEMENT  EXAMINED. 

accepted,  according  to  that  agreement,  and  yet  no  redemption, 
a  price  and  yet  no  purchase,  an  expiation  and  yet  no  dehver- 
ance.  Christ  died  in  pursuance  of  a  covenant,  for  the  special 
purpose  of  saving  sinners,  and  if,  therefore.  He  accomplished 
His  object.  He  secured  the  salvation  of  all  for  whom  He  died. 

9.  The  Scriptures  everywhere  represent  Christ  as  the  only 
and  the  efficient  Saviour  of  sinners,  but  according  to  these 
theories  God  the  Father  saves  the  sinner,  or  God  the  Holy 
Ghost  saves  him,  or  the  sinner  saves  himself,  since  the  actual 
salvation  comes  not  from  Christ's  atonement,  but  from  God's 
sovereign  grace,  from  the  Spirit's  renewed  power,  and  from 
the  sinner's  own  ability  and  inclination. 

10.  According  to  these  theories  we  are  no  more  certain  of 
salvation  than  if  Christ  had  never  died,  since  salvation  is  made 
to  depend  solely  upon  the  free  grace  and  mercy  of  God,  which 
grace  and  mercy  were  as  infinite  before  as  they  can  be  since 
the  atonement. 

Universal  redemption,  therefore,  frees  us  from  nothing — 
leaves  us  just  where  it  found  us — makes  no  satisfaction  and 
secures  no  salvation. 

But  if  such  insuperable  difficulties  stand  in  the  way  of  these 
theories  of  the  atonement  why,  you  will  ask,  have  they  been 
introduced  and  so  largely  adopted?  To  this  reasonable  ques- 
tion we  will  endeavor  to  give  you  a  plain  answer. 

The  reasons  which  lead  men  to  adopt  these  theories  of  a 
general  atonement  are  two :  One  is  a  desire  to  explain  and  indi- 
cate the  ways  of  God,  so  as  to  make  it  appear  that  He  is  not 
only  merciful  and  gracious  in  providing  salvation,  but  that 
He  has  made  the  same  provision  in  every  respect  for  all  men 
universally,  and  now  makes  to  all  the  same  overtures  and  pro- 
vides all  with  the  same  means  of  salvation  and  eternal  life. 
The  other  reason  is  a  desire  not  only  to  leave  all  men  without 
excuse  for  unbelief  and  neglect  of  salvation,  but  also  to  facili- 
tate their  compliance  with  the  offer  of  the  gospel. 

Now,  the  nature  and  design  by  which  these  theorists  are 
actuated  is  undoubtedly  good.  But  still  we  are  not  to  do  evil 
that  good — however  great  that  good  may  seem  to  be — may 
result  from  it.  Now,  it  is  an  evil  and  a  forbidden  thing  to 
pry  into  the  secret  things  which  belong  unto  the  Lord  our 


THEORY  OF  A  GENERAL  ATONEMENT  EXAMINED.  647 

God,  "who  doeth  great  things  and  unsearchable  without  num- 
ber." "God  is  greater  than  man,  why  dost  thou  strive  with 
Him  for  He  giveth  not  account  of  any  of  His  matters?"  "He 
leadeth  counsellors  away  spoiled  and  maketh  the  judges  fools." 
"There  is  no  wisdom  nor  understanding  nor  counsel  against 
the  Lord."  "I  know  that  whatsoever  the  Lord  doeth  it  shall 
be  forever;  nothing  can  be  put  to  it,  nor  anything  added  or 
taken  from  it;  and  God  doth  it  that  men  should  fear  before 
Him."  Such  is  the  tenor  of  much  of  the  Word  of  God.  He 
is  not  only  unsearchable  in  His  own  nature,  but  also  in  His 
works.  His  word  and  His  ways.  "Great  things  doeth  He 
which  we  cannot  comprehend."* 

Nor  is  this  all.  The  Scriptures  not  only  admit  that  there  is 
much  in  God's  dealings  which  transcends  all  possible  compre- 
hension— they  connect  this  mystery  and  this  sovereignty  with 
the  introduction  and  permission  of  evil,  and  with  the  whole 
plan  of  salvation  by  which  it  has  pleased  Him  to  redeem  the 
lost.  Neither  is  there  anywhere  in  Scripture  any  attempt 
made  to  explain  away  to  man  these  heights  and  depths  of 
inscrutable  sovereignty.  The  very  contrary  is  the  truth. 
These  difficulties  are  openly  stated  and  boldly  presented.  Their 
contrariety  to  human  wisdom  and  philosophy  is  admitted. 
They  cannot,  we  are  told,  be  understood  by  the  natural  mind 
because  they  are  spiritually  received.  They  are  utter  foolislv 
ness  to  the  wisdom  of  men,  so  that  without  controversy  the 
whole  scheme  of  salvation  is  a  great  mystery  and  stumbling 
block  to  the  natural  understanding. 

The  attempt  to  clear  up  this  system  to  man's  understanding 
and  to  reconcile  it  to  all  men  is  as  absurd  as  it  is  dangerous,  and 
has  been  the  painful  source  of  error,  rationalism  and  infidelity. 

These  theories  of  the  atonement  only  dai^ken  counsel  and 
deceive  men  with  a  show  of  wisidom.  The  real  difficulty  of  the 
case  they  do  not  touch.  That  difficulty  lies  like  clouds  and 
darkness  round  about  God's  whole  moral  firmament.  The 
permission  of  sin  among  the  angels  and  among  men,  and  the 
destruction  of  the  rebel  angels  and  of  a  portion  of  the  human 
family — who  shall  as  the  advocates  of  both  these  theories  admit 
be  finally  lost — ^these  are  the  real  difficulties — ^^against  which  we 

*See  Rom.  11:33-35. 


648  THEORY  OF  A  GENERAI.  ATONEMENT  EXAMINED. 

canoot  reply  without  blasphemous  presumption — which  we  can 
admit  only  in  view  of  the  infinite  wisdom  and  infinite  goodness 
of  the  Righteous  Ruler  of  heaven  and  earth. 

If,  as  these  theories  teach,  the  atonement  in  its  own  nature, 
intention  and  efficacy,  is  equally  sufficient  for  all  men,  so  that 
God  could  now  be  just  in  saving  all  men,  then  why  are  not  all 
saved?  Why  did  God  by  His  sovereign  election  limit  any 
influences  in  any  measure  necessary  to  secure  salvation  to 
any  number  of  mankind?  Why  does  God  limit  the  applica- 
tion of  an  atonement  which  was  designed  and  made  effectual 
equally  for  all  men  to  a  portion  of  the  human  race?  If  the 
Holy  Spirit  alone  can  apply  the  benefits  of  this  statement  to 
any,  if  He  alone  can  work  in  any  heart  to  will  and  to  do  of 
God's  good  pleasure, — then  why  does  not  the  Holy  Spirit  thus 
work  in  the  hearts  of  all  men  willing  in  the  day  of  His  power? 
And  even  if  we  rush  into  the  doctrine  that  all  men  can  be, 
and  therefore  will  be,  saved,  then  why  did  Christ  die  at  all — 
why  the  terrors  of  the  Lord  with  which  Scripture  everywhere 
abound,  and  why  are  not  all  regenerated  sanctified  and  thus 
made  fit  for  heaven  ? 

It  is  evident  that  no  theory  is  free  from  difficulties  beyond 
our  capacity  to  reconcile  to  man's  wisdom  and  philosophy, 
and  that  every  effort  to  bring  down  the  plan  of  salvation  to 
man's  comprehension  and  acceptance  only  leads  us  to  flatter 
man's  pride,  to  constitute  man  a  judge  in  the  case,  to  make 
God  amenable  to  man's  decision — and  thus  finally  to  overthrow 
the  whole  counsel  of  God.  Christ  is  robbed  of  His  glory,  the 
Spirit  of  His  prerogative  and  office,  and  God  of  His  sover- 
eignty and  justice  and  of  His  right  and  power  to  do  what 
He  will  with  His  own.* 

You  are  ever  accountable,  being  soon  to  appear  before  the 
judgment  seat  of  God  and  to  be  judged  by  what  He  has 
revealed  to  you  in  His  Word.  What  is  your  duty  is  in  His 
Word  made  so  clear  that  the  wayfaring  man  though  a  fool 
need  not  err.  And  that  what  is  required  at  your  hands  is  a 
reasonable  service,  so  that  it  commends  itself  to  every  man's 
conscience  in  the  sight  of  God  as  what  God  had  a  right  to 
demand  and  man  was  under  obligation  to  render,  is  equally 

*See  Rom.  9  :  14-23. 


THEORY  Oif  A  GENERAI.   ATONEMENT   EXAMINED.  649 

certain.  You  are  uoder  infinite  obligation,  as  you  value  your 
own  infinite  destiny,  to  know  what  Godi  would  have  you  to  do 
and  to  do  it. 

The  work  of  Christ  in  dying  for  sinners  is  a  demonstration 
which  you  cannot  gainsay  that  God  is  gracious  and  merciful — 
and  it  proves  with  equal  certainty  that  the  atonement  thus 
made  is  infinitely  meritorious  and  sufficient  for  the  salvation 
of  all  to  whom  God  may  please  to  apply  it.  The  offer  that 
God  makes  on  the  gospel  to  every  sinner  of  Jesus  Christ  as 
a  Saviour  and  of  His  atonement  as  an  all-sufficient  salvation 
and  which  He  enforces  by  His  commands,  His  promises.  His 
persuasions.  His  ministers,  His  providence,  and  His  Spirit — is 
a  most  uncontrovertible  and  all-sufficient  ground  and  warrant 
for  every  sinner  to  believe  and  obey  the  gospel  in  the  assur- 
ance that  in  so  doing  he  shall  infallibly  be  saved.  If  then 
you  believe  and  obey  you  shall  be  saved,  and  if  you 
do  not  believe  and  obey  be  damned.  And  it  is  by  no  means 
certain  or  necessary  that  you  shall  be  saved.  You  may  be 
lost.  Many  shall  perish  and  go  away  into  everlasting  destruc- 
tion, and  the  opportunity  of  being  saved  at  all  will  soon  be 
passed  away  forever. 

You  caniniot  of  yourself  believe  and  obey  the  gospel  and  it 
is  a  fatal  error  to  imagine  that  you  can.  In  order  to  do  this 
you  must  be  born  again  by  the  renewing  of  the  Holv  Ghost. 
"Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,"  says  that  divine  Redeemer 
who  is  to  be  your  future  judge,  "except  a  man  be  born  again 
he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God." 

Be  admonished  also,  fellow  sinner,  that  all  will  not  finally 
be  saved.  "He  that  dies  filthy  and  unredeemed  and  without 
holiness,  shall  remain  filthy  still."  "He  shall  die  in  his  sins." 
And  on  that  day  when  Christ  shall  judge  the  world  in  right- 
eousness "many  shall  say  unto  Him,  Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not" 
hoped  and  trusted  in  Thy  mercy  and  trusted  that  through  Thee 
all  men  should  be  saved,  "to  whom  He  will  say,  depart  from 
me,  I  never  knew  you." 

There  is  no  other  road  to  heaven  than  holiness,  for  as  those 
who  are  saved  were  "chosen  in  Christ  before  the  foundation  of 
the  world,"  so  were  they  chosen  "that  they  should  be  holy  and 
without  blame  before  Him  in  love,"  and  to  them  the  gospel 


650  THEORY  OF  A  GENERAL  ATONEMENT  EXAMINED. 

comes  not  in  word  only  but  also  in  power,  and  in  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

Whether  you  were  elected  or  not  neither  you  nor  I,  nor  any 
mortal  knows,  or  can  know.  Whether  you  were  individually 
and  specially  designated  in  the  purpose  and  provision  of  the 
atonement  neither  you,  nor  I,  nor  any  mortal  knows,  or  can 
know.  But  this  you  and  I  do  know,  an  atonement  has  been 
made.  That  atonement  secures  to  every  one  who  truly 
believes  and  obeys  the  gospel,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  a  com- 
plete Saviour,  the  Holy  Spirit  as  a  complete  Sanctifier,  and 
God  as  a  reconciled  God  and  Father,  Of  all  this  God  in  virtue 
of  the  covenant  of  redemption  makes  a  sincere  and  hearty 
ofifer  to  every  sinner,  and  to  you  in  particular,  an  offer,  not  as 
the  theories  I  have  been  discussing  would  teach  you  of  the 
possibility  of  salvation,  but  of  Jesus  Christ  and  in  Him  of  a 
certain  salvation.  An  actual,  an  all-mighty  and  an  all- 
sufficient  Saviour  with  an  actual  and  all-sufficient  atonement 
are  offered  to  you  truly  and  sincerely  by  a  God  willing  to  be 
gracious,  a  Saviour  willing  to  redeem,  and  a  Spirit  willing  to 
renew.* 


*See  2  Cor.  5. 


The  Doctrine  of  Predestination 

Beneficial  to  Many  and 

Injurious  to  None. 


BY 

Thi;  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 
Charleston,  S.  C. 


July,  1842. 


THE   DOCTRINE    OF    PREDESTINATION 

BENEFICIAL    TO    MANY    AND 

INJURIOUS  TO  NONE. 


SERMON  ONE. 
Rom.  9:14-20. 

What  shall  we  say  then  ?  Is  there  unrighteousness  with  God  ?  God 
forbid. 

For  He  saith  to  Moses,  I  will  have  mercy  on  whom  I  will  have  mercy, 
and  I  will  have  compassion  on  whom  I  will  have  compassion. 

So  then  it  is  not  of  him  that  willeth,  nor  of  him  that  runneth,  but  of 
God  that  sheweth  mercy. 

For  the  Scripture  saith  unto  Pharaoh,  Even  for  this  same  purpose  have 
I  raised  thee  up,  that  I  might  shew  my  power  in  thee,  and  that  my  name 
might  be  declared  throughout  the  earth. 

Therefore  hath  He  mercy  on  whom  He  will  kave  mercy,  and  whom  He 
will  He  hardeneth. 

Thou  wilt  say  then  unto  me.  Why  doth  He  yet  find  fault?  For  who 
hath  resisted  His  will? 

Nay  but,  O  man,  who  art  thou  that  repliest  against  God?  Shall  the 
thing  formed  say  to  Him  that  formed  it,  Why  hast  thou  made  me  thus? 

We  are  led  by  this  passage  of  Holy  Scripture  to  discourse 
upon  the  doctrine  of  predestination.  By  predestination  is  to 
be  understood  God's  unchangeable  purpose  or  decree,  concern- 
ing the  last  end  and  eternal  state  of  angels  and  men.  Of  this 
the  following  is  a  summary  deduced  from  our  Confession  of 
Faith:  "Men  having  by  wilful  and  dieliberate  transgression 
sinned  against  God,  justly  fell  under  His  wrath  and  curse. 
All  men,  regularly  descended  from  Adam,  became  children  of 
wrath,  and  are  utterly  destitute  of  original  righteousness.  The 
consequence  was  that  sentence  of  condemnation  passed  upon 
all  men.  Unless  we  are  prepared  to  question  the  stainless  jus- 
tice of  God  we  must  admit  that  this  sentence,  thus  solemnly 
passed  upon  the  race,  was  a  righteous  sentence.  Out  of  this 
race  of  guilty  and  polluted  sinners,  thus  justly  condemned,  God 
graciously  and  eternally  elected  some  to  life  and  happiness 
and  glory ;  while  He  left  the  rest  in  their  state  of  wretchedness 
and  ruin,  and  determined  to  inflict  upon  them  the  punishment 
of  which  they  should  be  finally  deserving.  And  the  reason 
why  He  thus  elected  some  and  passed  by  others,  when  all  were 
equally  undeserving,  is  to  be  referred  wholly  to  Himself  and  to 
the  counsel  of  His  own  will." 


656  THE  doctrine;  oS'  predestination. 

Such  is  our  doctrine.  Now  you  will  observe*  firstly  that  this 
doctrine  presupposes  the  existence  of  sin  as  the  ground  work 
of  predestination.  It  does  not  say  that  God  predestinated  men 
to  sin,  and  then  choose  some  and  left  the  rest,  but  that  fore- 
seeing the  certain  entrance  of  sin,  He  was  thus  induced  to  act. 
God,  therefore,  is  not  by  this  doctrine  made  the  author  of 
sin.  He  does  not  will  the  sins  of  man,  or  effect  them  by  any 
operation  of  His  powers,  but  arranges  His  plan  with  a  view 
to  them,  and  overrules  them  to  His  own  glory.  The  doctrine 
declares  two  things,  first  that  God  preordained  all  things,  and 
secondly  that  He  is  not  the  author  of  sin. 

Secondly.  Observe  also  that  this  doctrine  does  not  produce, 
or  aggravate  the  misery  of  man.  It  states  facts  as  they  are.  It 
does  not  influence  the  actual  condition  of  a  single  soul.  It 
merely  accounts  for  that  condition,  and  shows  that  it  was  fore- 
known and  provided  for  in  the  purpose  of  God.  It  is  allowed 
by  all  evangelical  christians  ithat  a  certain  number  will  be  finally 
saved  and  the  rest  lost.  Now  all  that  is  done  by  this  doctrine 
is  to  show  that  all  this  was  foreknown  by  God — those  who 
are  saved  having  been  chosen  by  Him  to  salvation  and  those 
who  are  lost  having  been  left  by  Him  to  choose  their  evil 
course. 

Thirdly.  In  this  doctrine  God  is  here  represented  as  making 
His  choice,  without  any  personal  consideration  or  bias.  All 
were  equally  guilty  and  condemned,  and  equally  unworthy  of 
His  regard.  In  choosing  therefore  the  elect,  God  was  moved 
by  His  own  sovereign  will  and  pleasure  and  cannot  in  any 
reason  be  called  a  respecter  of  persons. 

Fourthly,  you  will  observe  that  this  doctrine  by  no  means 
implies  that  God  ohliges  the  reprobates  to  sin,  or  that  He  made 
them  for  the  purpose  of  condemning  them,  or  that  they  are 
necessarily  excluded  from  all  hope  of  salvation,  and  the  possi- 
bility of  embracing  it,  or  that  do  what  they  will  to  avoid  it 
they  must  be  lost.  As  far  as  they  are  concerned,  they  hear 
and  receive  the  ofifers  of  mercy  as  much  as  the  elect.  No 
hindrance  is  thrown  in  their  way  of  en^bracing  the  gospel. 
Nor  does  God  refuse  to  receive  any  returning  sinner.  But  for 
His  own  purposes  and  glory  He  leaves  them  to  their  own 

*Thornwell  on  Election,  p.  617. 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  PREDESTINATION.  657 

choice  and  withholds  from  them  that  grace  which  He  is  under 
no  obhgations  to  communicate  and  to  whioh  none  are  entitled. 

Fifthly,  be  it  observed  that  in  passing  upon  the  reprobates 
the  sentence  of  condemnation  God  does  not  inflict  it  because 
He  had  determined  to  do  so  in  this  decree.  They  will  be  thus 
condemned  "for  their  sin,"  they  having  "hardened  themselves 
even  under  those  means  which  God  useth  for  the  softening  of 
others." 

Sixthly,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  by  this  doctrine  it  is  not 
taught  that  while  the  elect  were  chosen  without  foresight  of 
their  faith  or  good  works,  they  are  to  be  finally  saved  without 
either.  On  the  contrary,  they  were  elected  that  thev  might 
be  pardoned,  regenerated,  justified,  sanctified  and  finally 
glorified.  The  constant  means  of  grace  and  the  persevering 
effort  for  the  attainment  of  holiness  were  as  much  a  part  of 
God's  decree  as  salvation  itself. 

We  make  these  remarks  to  obviate  misconception,  not  to 
lessen  the  difficulty  of  the  subject.  That  difficulty  is  con- 
fessedly great.  It  is  acknowledged  by  our  standards.  "The 
doctrine  of  this  high  mystery  of  predestination,"  says  our  Con- 
fession, "is  to  be  handled  with  special  prudence  and  care."  It 
is  a  deep  sea  which  none  can  fathom,  which  few  can  navigate 
with  skill,  and  where  thousands  make  shipwreck  of  the  faith, 
are  overwhelmed  by  the  waves  of  heresy,  or  perish  by  their 
own  undoing.  This  doubtless  is  one  of  those  doctrines  in  the 
epistles  of  Paul  of  which  St.  Peter  speaks,  and  which  the 
unleavened  and  unstable  wrest,  as  they  do  the  other  Scriptures, 
to  their  own  destruction.  We  have  no  hope  of  making  this 
subject  simple  and  much  less  agreeable.  We  cannot  under- 
take to  resolve  all  its  difficulties,  to  answer  all  objections,  to 
silence  all  gainsaying,  or  to  dissipate  all  prejudice.  We  have, 
therefore,  stated  the  doctrine  in  all  its  length  and  breadth  and 
in  all  its  repulsiveness  to  mere  natural  reason.  With  its  sup- 
posed tendencies  we  have  nothing  to  do.  Nor  are  there  any 
grounds  of  evidence  for  or  against  its  truth.  There  is  no  fal- 
lacy more  common  than  to  argue  for  any  doctrine  from  its 
supposed  influence  and  the  good  it  may  accomplish  and  the 
prejudices  it  may  disarm.  That  every  doctrine  is  in  the  opin- 
ion of  the  objector,  derogatory  to  the  Deity,  harsh,  cruel  or 

42— Vol.  X. 


658  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  PREDESTINATION. 

absurd,  is  quite  a  sufficient  ground  for  its  unqualified  reproba- 
tion. Now  were  it  a  mere  question  of  choice  that  was  sub- 
mitted to  the  mind,  such  a  course  might  be  justifiable  and  even 
reasonable.  But  not  so  when  the  question  is  one  of  truth — and 
of  divine  truth.  In  such  a  case  the  inquiry  presented  to  any 
reasonable  mind  is  not,  "is  this  in  accordance  with  my  notions 
respecting  the  divine  character  ?"  but  "is  it  the  doctrine  of  that 
divine  law-giver,  whose  will  is  law,  and  whose  laws  are  true 
and  righteous  altogether?"  Either  the  doctrine  was  given  by 
Him  and  is  therefore  true,  or  it  was  not  thus  given  and  is  con- 
sequently false.  But  if  true  it  must,  beyond  controversy,  be 
holy  and  salutary  in  its  tendencies,  however  liable  to  abuse, 
perversion  and  evil,  and  to  say  of  any  doctrine  that  it  is  true 
and  yet  that  it  is  injurious  in  its  tendency,  or  impossible  to  be 
believed,  is  to  fly  in  the  face  of  the  Eternal,  to  set  up  our  puny 
reason  against  His  infinite  and  unerring  wisdom:  With  such 
an  one  it  is  impossible  to  reason,  and  there  is  no  alternative  but 
to  leave  him  to  the  righteous  judgment  of  God. 

Now  that  this  doctrine  of  predestination  is  the  doctrine  of 
the  Bible  and  therefore  true,  cannot  be  denied  by  any  who 
will  allow  the  Bible  to  be  understood  in  its  own  manifest  decla- 
rations. In  no  other  way  could  it  be  understood  by  the  greatest 
divines  in  all  ages  of  the  Church.  This  doctrine  was  deduced 
from  the  Word  of  God  by  every  refonned  church  in  Christen- 
dom, It  is  imbedded  in  all  their  standards.  It  was  introduced 
into  the  thirty-nine  articles  of  the  Episcopal  church  and  was 
the  undeniable  doctrine  of  the  church  of  England  for  a  long 
time  after  the  Reformation,  as  appears  authoritatively  from  the 
Lambeth  articles  and  the  articles  of  the  Irish  church,  in  which 
they  are  embraced.  It  forms  a  part  of  the  creed  of  the  Presby- 
terian, the  Congregationalist  and  the  Baptist  denomination,  and 
is  only  rejected  by  the  Romis'h,  High  Church  and  Methodist 
denominations.  The  doctrine  is  interwoven  with  the  very 
texture  of  the  Bible  and  forms  the  groundwork  of  all  its 
precepts  and  promises  touching  salvation.  Let  any  man  read 
the  eighth,  ninth  and  eleventh  chapters  of  Romans,  with  the 
first  chapter  of  the  epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  and  he  will  find 
proof  for  this  doctrine  which  no  effort  O'f  sophistry  can  destroy. 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  PREDESTINATION.  659 

But  the  proof  is  everywhere,  and  would  of  itself  fill  a  volume 
and  form  a  digest  of  the  sacred  writings. 

On  this  part  of  the  subject  we  shall  therefore  do  little  more 
than  quote  some  passages  of  God's  Word.  In  perusing  the 
sacred  volume  we  meet  with  the  following  declarations: 
"Except  the  Lord  had  shortened  those  days  no  flesh  should  be 
saved ;  but  for  the  elect's  sake,  whom  He  hath  chosen. 
He  hath  shortened  the  days."  "Amid  sihall  not  God  avenge 
His  own  elect,  which  cry  day  and  night  unto  Him, 
though  He  bear  long  with  them?  I  tell  you  that  He  will 
avenge  them  speedily."  Luke  18  :7,  8.  "Who  shall  lay  any- 
thing to  the  charge  of  God's  elect?  It  is  God  that  justifieth. 
Who  is  he  that  condemneth?  It  is  Christ  that  died;  yea, 
rather,  that  is  risen  again,  who  is  even  at  the  right  hand  of  God, 
who  also  maketh  intercession  for  us."  Rom.  8  :33,  34.  "Elect 
according  to  the  foreknowledge  of  God  the  Father,  through 
sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  unto  obedience  and  sprinkling  of 
the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ."  1  Peter  1:2.  "Therefore  I 
endure  all  things  for  the  elect's  sakes,  that  they  may  also  obtain 
the  salvation  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  with  eternal  glory."  2 
Tim.  2  :10.  "Even  so  then  at  this  present  time  also  there  is 
a  remnant  according  to  the  election  of  grace."  Rom.  11 :5. 
"Knowing,  brethren  beloved,  your  election  of  God."  1  Thess. 
1 :4.  "According  as  He  hath  chosen  us  in  Him  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world."  Eph.  1 :4.  "Ye  have  not  chosen 
me,  but  /  have  chosen  you."  John  15  :16.  But  we  are  bound 
to  give  thanks  always  to  God  for  you,  brethren  beloved  of  the 
Lord,  because  God  hath  from  the  beginning  chosen  you  to  sal- 
vation, through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit  and  belief  of  the 
truth."  2  Thess.  2 :13.  "For  whom  he  did  foreknow,  he  also 
did  predestinate  to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  His  Son,  that 
He  might  be  the  first-born  among  many  brethren.  Moreover, 
whom  He  did  predestinate,  them  He  also  called;  and  whom 
He  called,  them  He  also  justified;  and  whom  he  justified,  them 
He  also  glorified."  Rom.  8 :39,  30.  "As  many  as  were 
ordained  unto  eternal  life  believed."  Acts  13  :48.  "Ye  are  a 
chosen  generation,  a  royal  priesthood,  an  holy  nation,  a  pecu- 
liar people."  1  Peter  2  :9.  "Who  hath  saved  us,  and  called 
us  with  an  holy  calling,  not  according  to  our  works,  but  accord- 


660  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  PREDESTINATION. 

ing  to  His  ozvn  purpose  and  grace,  which  was  given  us  in 
Christ  Jesus  before  the  world  began."     2  Tim.  1 :9. 

From  these  quotations  it  appears,  that  believers  in  Christ 
are  an  elect  or  chosen  people;  that  their  election  was  an  act 
of  sovereign  grace  or  mercy ;  that  it  was  according  to  the  fore- 
knowledge of  God ;  that  it  was  in  Christ ;  that  it  was  to  salva- 
tion as  the  final  end ;  that  it  was  through  sanctification  of  the 
Spirit  and  the  belief  of  the  truth;  and  that  it  was  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world,  or  before  the  world  began.  These 
are  not  inferences  drawn  from  the  declaration  of  God's  Word, 
they  are  the  declarations  themselves. 

Should  it  be  said,  that  God's  foreknowledge  preceded  His 
decree,  and  that  He  chose  His  people  because  He  foresaw  that 
they  would  repent  and  believe  the  gospel;  we  reply,  that, 
whether  the  foreknowledge  of  God  preceded  His  decree,  or 
His  decree  preceded  His  foreknowledge,  it  is  clear,  that 
repentance  and  faith  could  not  have  been  the  cause  of  elec- 
tion. Repentance  and  faith  are  said  to  be  the  gifts  of  God. 
Acts  5:31;  Eph.  2:8.  And,  if  so,  they  are  included  among 
the  benefits  of  election.  Now  to  make  what  God  does  or  gives 
in  time,  the  ground  of  His  having  decreed  from  eternity  to  do 
or  give  it,  is  to  make  the  effect  produce  the  cause  which  is 
contrary  both  to  Scripture  and  reason.  Besides,  the  Scrip- 
tures declare  that  He  chose  His  people  not  because  they  were 
holy,  but  that  they  might  be  so,  Eph.  1 :4 ;  and  that  we  love 
Him  because  He  first  loved  us.     1  John  4 :19. 

There  are  many  who  are  willing  to  admit  that  such  is  the 
truth  in  the  case,  and  that  this  doctrine  is  unquestionably 
found  in  God's  Word.  And  yet  they  knew  not  how  to  believe 
and  receive  it,  so  awful  does  it  appear  and  so  powerfully  do 
their  minds  revolt  from  it.  Our  present  business  is  with  such. 
It  is  to  these  we  now  address  ourselves.  Assuming  that  this 
is  the  doctrine  of  the  Bible  we  would  present  some  considera- 
tions by  which  such  minds  may  be  better  enabled  to  receive 
the  truth  in  humility  and  child-like  confidence ;  and  by  which 
they  may  be  relieved  of  their  present  distressing  conflict 
between  feeling  and  duty — between  the  flesh  and  the  Spirit — 
between  sympathy  for  man  and  reverence  for  God. 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  PREDESTINATION.  661 

And  first  let  me  remind  such  persons  that  a  revelation  from 
God — a  doctrine  of  heaven  and  which  has  reference  to  eternity 
and  to  the  whole  universe,  must  of  necessity  be  above  our  full 
comprehension  and  in  many  respects  contrary  to  our  natural 
feelings.  If  God  is,  as  we  believe,  infinitely  great  and  glori- 
ous, then  He  must  be  past  our  finding  out.  If  His  govern- 
ment extends  equally  to  all  worlds,  and  to  all  beings,  then 
clouds  and  darkness  must  be  round  about  it.  And  if  God  con- 
descends to  speak  to  us  from  heaven  and  to  make  known  so 
much  of  His  ways  as  is  necessary  for  our  welfare,  it  must  be 
that  we  shall  see  such  things  through  a  glass  darkly — that  we 
shall  see  only  in  part  and  know  only  in  part.  These  doctrines, 
touching  upon  the  interests  of  this  wide  dominion,  and  having 
relation  to  the  past,  the  present  and  the  future,  must  be  high 
as  heaven  so  that  we  cannot  attain  to  it,  and  deep  as  hell  so 
that  we  cannot  fathom  it.  Its  full  comprehension,  and  its 
perfect  harmony  with  all  other  truths,  can  be  known  only  to 
God.  To  pretend,  therefore,  to  judge  God  and  His  words  is 
to  overthrow  all  the  foundations  of  faith.  "That  a  soul  may 
receive  life  it  must  receive  faith ;  that  it  may  have  faith  it  must 
believe  God ;  that  it  may  believe  God  it  must  begin  by  renounc- 
ing the  prejudices  of  its  own  wisdom  concerning  sin,  the 
future,  judgment,  grace,  itself,  the  world,  God,  everything." 
Has  not  God  written  that  "the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the 
things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him ; 
neither  can  he  know  them  because  they  are  spiritually  dis- 
cerned ?"  The  Bible  in  many  of  its  doctrines  must  shock 
our  reason,  our  conscience,  or  our  feelings,  not  by  being 
in  contrariety,  but  infinitely  above  them.  But  is  it,  therefore, 
to  be  rejected?  Nay,  it  is  on  this  account  the  rather  to  be 
received — having  this  manifest  evidence  that  it  is  from  above. 
Being  written  in  that  Book  which  proves  itself  to  be  divine, 
we  are  bound  to  believe  such  doctrines  on  the  testimony  of 
God  alone.  What  is  to  us  inscrutable,  let  us  leave  to 
be  more  fully  explained  when  we  shall  see  eye  to  eye  and 
know  even  as  we  are  known.  It  is  enough  to  know  that 
righteousness  and  judgment  are  the  habitation  of  God's 
throne,  that  His  work  is  perfect  and  all  His  ways  are  judg- 
ment ;  a  God  of  truth  and  v.nthout  iniquity ;  just  and  right  is 


662  THE  doctrine;  of  predestination. 

He.  Let  this  silence  every  doubt,  rebuke  every  murmur,  and 
assure  our  hearts  that  what  we' know  not  now  we  shall  know 
hereafter  when  the  heavens  shall  declare  God's  righteousness 
and  all  people  see  His  glory. 

We  are  not,  however,  to  suppose  that  we  are  debarred  from 
humble  and  modest  inquiry  into  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible. 
Far  from  it.  It  is  our  privilege  not  only  to  search  the  Scrip- 
tures that  we  may  know  what  doctrines  are  of  God  and  be 
established  in  them,  but  also,  as  far  as  possible,  to  understand 
their  design,  and  bearing  upon  the  welPbeing  of  mankind. 
And  it  is  unquestionably  a  source  of  exalted  pleasure  to  be  able 
to  follow  out  to  all  its  beneficent  consequences  some  pre- 
cept of  the  sacred  Scriptures.  Now  such  pleasure  may  be 
found  in  the  contemplation  of  this  doctrine  of  predestination, 
for  although  clouds  and  darkness  must  necessarily  to  some 
extent  remain  about  it,  we  may  be  enabled  to  perceive  that  in 
justice  and  righteousness,  it  is  established. 

We  think  it  may  be  shown  that  while  injurious  to  none,  it 
is  beneficial  to  many,  while  it  proclaims  aloud  the  glory  of 
God. 


SERMON  TWO. 

The  doctrine  of  election  is  injurious  to  none. 

It  is  not  injurious  to  those  who  believe  the  gospel,  since  by 
it  they  are  assured  that  what  God  has  done  for  their  souls  in 
time,  He  had  designed  to  do  from  all  eternity.  There  is  every- 
thing in  the  doctrine  to  give  them  comfort,  since  there  is  no 
longer  any  condemnation  to  them  that  believe,  who  walk  not 
after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit.  Being  justified  by  faith, 
they  have  peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  In 
every  exercise  of  faith  and  love  and  hope  and  prayer  they  have 
an  evidence  that  they  have  been  called  of  God,  and  that  they 
are  personally  interested  in  His  electing  love.  They  ?re  also 
stimulated  to  a  holy  devotedness.  Their  faith  works  bv  love. 
They  are  jealous  over  themselves,  fearing  lest  a  promise  being 
left  them  of  entering  into  rest  they  should  even  seem  to  come 
short.  As  the  means  of  grace  were  included  in  the  decree  of 
salvation,  as  the  instrumentality  by  which  it  should  be  fulfilled, 


THE  DOCTRINE  OE  PREDESTINATION.  663 

they  are  thus  induced  to  work  out  their  salvation  with  fear 
and  trembhng,  that  they  may  make  their  calling  and  election 
sure.  And  are  not  christians  also  led  by  this  doctrine  to 
greater  activity  and  devotedness?  They  labor  not  in  vain. 
They  fight  not  uncertainly.  They  go  not  to  battle  in  their 
own  strength.  Their  power  is  in  God,  who  worketh  in  them 
to  will  and  to  do  of  His  good  pleasure.  And  in  the  power  of 
His  might  though  weak  they  are  strong,  though  helpless  they 
can  do  all  things,  though  timid  they  are  holy,  though  sur- 
rounded by  enemies  and  difficulties  they  can  say,  "none  of  these 
things  move  me,  for  greater  is  He  that  is  for  me  than  all  that 
are  against  me."  Whether  you  look  at  individual  christians, 
or  at  united  dicnominations  who  hold  this  faith,,  do  you  not  find 
them  incited  thus  to  live  to  God,  and  thus  to  spread  abroad 
the  glory  of  His  name  by  the  diffusion  of  His  glorious  gospel? 

This  doctrine  is  not  injurious  to  those  who  die  in  infancy. 
These  constitute  about  one-half,  or  as  some  think  two-thirds, 
of  the  entire  human  family,  and  will  thus  form  an  aggregate 
of  countless  millions.  Now,  over  their  graves  this  doctrine 
erects  the  cross  as  the  beacon  of  hope  and  the  herald  of  mercy. 
It  proclaims  for  them  a  Saviour,  for  "of  such  is  the  kingdom 
of  heaven."  It  opens  to  them  a  refuge  in  that  sure  mercy 
which  was  from  eternity  provided  for  them.  By  nature  chil- 
dren of  wrath,  and  born  in  sin,  they  are  washed  and  sanctified 
in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  are,  as  we  may  hope,  by  virtue 
of  this  covenant,  made  meet  for  an  inheritance  among  the 
saints  in  light.  In  no  other  way,  by  no  other  doctrine,  on  no 
other  conceivable  hypothesis,  'have  we  such  a  steadfast  ground 
as  this  on  which  to  build  our  hopes  for  the  everlasting  welfare 
of  the  myriad  throng  of  dying  infants. 

This  doctrine  is  not  injurious  to  the  heathen.  On  the  con- 
trary, as  we  have  seen,  it  affords  the  only  ground  of  certain 
hope  for  the  salvation  of  that  vast  proportion  who,  under  this 
dark  system,  pass  from  earth  in  immaturity.  Nay,  more — let 
it  be  supposed  possible  for  God  to  apply  salvation  to  any 
number  of  the  heathen — let  it  be  regarded  as  His  purpose  thus 
to  exercise  His  mercy — then  do  we  possess  in  this  doctrine  an 
infallible  assurance  that  every  such  soul  shall  be  gathered 
home  to  glory.     Certain  it  is  that  the  heathen  are  involved 


664  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  PREDESTINATION. 

in  their  guilt  and  misery  not  by  any  agency  of  this  doc- 
trine. Sin  made  them  what  they  are,  and  the  existence  of 
sin  is  presupposed  in  purpose  of  election.  We  teach  not  as 
did  the  Romish  missionary  to  India,  that  the  heathen  are  pre- 
destined to  hell.  We  plead  no  decree  of  heaven  for  with- 
holding from  them  the  knowledge  of  salvation,  nor  is  there  any 
limit  set  by  God's  Word  to  the  universal  diffusion  of  the 
knowledge  of  His  name.  Contrariwise  christians  are  under 
imperative  obligations  to  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature, 
and  on  them  lies  the  guilt  of  neglected  duty.  And  while  mil- 
lions of  heathen  are  rushing  into  a  dark  eternity,  they  will 
never  be  judged  by  this  doctrine — their  fate  will  be  decided 
by  their  own  standard,  and  their  destiny  awarded  on  principles 
which  would  have  remained  the  same  had  no  decree  of  election 
ever  been  passed. 

Neither  is  this  doctrine  injurious  to  those  in  christian  lands 
who  neglect  or  reject  the  great  salvation.  Have  they  ever 
been  informed  that  for  them  there  was  no  part  in  this 
redemption?  On  the  contrary,  to  them,  as  well  as  unto  us, 
have  been  proclaimed  the  glad  tidings  of  great  joy.  God  com- 
mandeth  all  such  men  everywhere  to  repent  and  believe  the 
gospel,  and  to  eveiy  one  of  them  has  been  addressed  our 
Saviour's  words,  "Whosoever  believeth  on  me  shall  not  perish 
but  have  everlasting  life."  Have  they  then  been  kept  back  by 
any  influence  of  God  from  embracing  eternal  life?  God  for- 
bid. Their  own  hearts  condemn  them.  Their  own  consciences 
accuse  them  of  wilful  and  persevering  resistance  to  the  striv- 
ings of  the  Spirit,  the  persuasions  of  friends  and  the  entreaties 
of  God's  ministers.  It  is  not  because  of  anything  in  this  doc- 
trine sinners  harden  their  hearts  solely  because  of  their  own 
bhndness  and  impenitency,  which  never  resulted  from  this  doc- 
trine, but  were  presupposed  in  its  origination.  Neither  will 
this  doctrine  affect  their  final  doom.  They  will  be  condemned, 
not  by  this  decree  and  purpose  of  God,  but  by  that  work  they 
have  slighted,  that  Saviour  they  have  rejected,  and  that  salva- 
tion they  have  scornfully  repudiated.  They  who  affirm  that 
this  doctrine  implies  more  than  this,  or  that  it  necessarily 
secures  the  damnation  of  the  rebellious,  slander  their  brethren, 
malign  the  Church  of  God,  blaspheme  God's  holy  name,  and 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  PREDESTINATION.  665 

frame  out  their  own  shame  and  ignominy  and  inexcusable  igno- 
rance. 

But  it  will  be  alleged  that  this  doctrine  is  an  insurmountable 
barrier  in  the  way  of  those  who  are  interested  in  the  subject 
of  religion  and  anxious  to  become  disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  Now,  that  many  do  make  a  stumbling  block  of  this 
doctrine,  over  which  they  fall  into  many  hurtful  delusions  and 
by  which  they  are  hindered  in  their  cause  we  readily  grant; 
but  that  there  is  anything  in  the  doctrine  to  justify  such  con- 
duct we  deny.  The  grace  of  God  is  abused  by  many  to  licen- 
tiousness ;  the  gospel  itself  is  perverted  to  the  worst  ends,  and 
every  doctrine  of  the  Bible  made  a  pretext  for  some  evil  course. 
But  God  will  not  hold  them  guiltless  who  thus  receive  His 
grace  in  vain.  And  no  more  are  they  excusable  who  palliate 
their  indifference  by  pleading  the  doctrine  of  election.  Are 
they  personally  assured  that  their  names  are  not  in  the  Book 
of  Life?  Are  they  excluded  from  any  overtures  of  reconcilia- 
tion ?  Are  they  freed  from  the  positive  obligation  of  obeying 
the  divine  command  ?  Or  is  it  any  discouragement  to  this  duty 
to  know  that  there  is  an  assurance  of  grace,  mercy  and  peace 
to  all  w*ho  are  called  and  that  if  they  seek  they  shall  find,  and  if 
they  ask  they  shall  receive,  and  if  they  knock  it  shall  be  opened 
unto  them?  Are  they  disposed  to  seek  the  Lord  and  to  embrace 
Christ  Jesus  as  their  Saviour — and  do  they  not  in  this  very 
disposition  find  an  evidence  of  hope  that  they  are  objects  of 
God's  electing  love  and  that  He  is  drawing  them  to  Himself  ? 
What  more  then  can  they  require  ?  What  have  they  to  do  with 
God's  secret  purpose  w'hen  they  have  His  pubHshed  will  and 
His  immutable  promises  ?  Away  then  with  such  a  pretext.  It 
were  really  absurd  were  it  not  so  awful  to  hear  sinners  parley- 
ing with  God  about  His  eternal  decrees,  when  He  is  com- 
manding them  now,  today,  to  hear  His  voice  and  not  to  harden 
their  hearts  in  unbelief. 

Predestination,  therefore,  can  injure,  and  does  injure,  no 
one.     And  does  it  not  benefit  many? 

The  apostle  assures  us  that  believers  are  blessed  with  all 
spiritual  blessings  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ,  according  as 
they  were  chosen  in  Him  before  the  foundation  of  the  world. 
Eph.  1 :  3,  4.     Hence  the  benefits  which  they  derive  from  elec- 


666  THE  DOCTRINE  OE  PREDESTINATION. 

tion  are  all  spiritual  blessings.  But  we  shall  endeavour  to 
particularize  these  blessings.  And  amongst  them  we  shall  find, 
The  kingdom  of  heaven:  Come  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit 
the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world.  Matt,  xxv:  34. — The  salvation  of  the  soul:  For  God 
hath  not  appointed  us  to  wrath,  but  to  obtain  salvation  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  1  Thess.  v.  9. — The  belief  of  the 
truth:  And  as  many  as  were  ordained  to  eternal  life  believed. 
Acts  xiii :  48. — Conformity  to  the  image  of  Christ:  Whom  He 
did  foreknow,  He  also  did  predestinate  to  be  conformed  to  the 
image  of  His  Son,  that  He  might  Ibe  t)he  first-born  among  many 
brethren.  Rom.  viii:  29. — Effectual  calling:  And  we  know 
that  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God, 
to  them  who  are  the  called  according  to  His  purpose.  Rom. 
viii :  28. — The  sane ti fie ation  of  the  Spirit:  God  hath  from  the 
beginning  chosen  you  to  salvation  through  sanctification  of  the 
Spirit  and  belief  of  the  truth.  2  Thess.  ii :  13. — Elect,  through 
sanctification  of  the  Spirit.  1  Peter  i:  2. — Adoption  into  the 
family  of  God:  Having  predestinated  us  to  the  adoption  of 
children  by  Jesus  Christ  to  Himself,  according  to  the  good 
pleasure  of  His  will.  Eph.  i :  5. — The  practice  of  good  works: 
For  we  are  His  workmanship,  created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto 
good  works,  which  God  hath  before  ordained  that  we  should 
walk  in  them.  Eph.  ii :  10. — Nearness  of  access  to  God:  Blessed 
is  the  man  whom  thou  choosest,  and  causest  to  approach  unto 
thee.  Ps.  lxv:4. — Fruit fidness  in  the  cause  of  Christ:  Ye 
have  not  chosen  me,  but  I  have  chosen  you,  and  ordained  you, 
that  ye  should  go  and  bring  forth  fruit,  and  that  your  fruit 
should  remain.     John  xv:  16. 

Neither  are  those  who  are  thus  benefited  a  small  portion 
of  the  human  family.  We  have  already  seen  that  they  include 
probably  all  among  infants — that  is,  at  least  one-half  of  all 
who  ever  have  lived  or  shall  yet  exist.  Among  them  are 
found  a  large  number  of  every  age  and  clime,  and  of  every 
denomination.  As  seen  by  the  apostle,  it  was  a  countless 
throng  whom  no  man  could  number.  That  multitude  has  been 
swelling  by  new  and  vast  accessions  during  the  last  1,800  years. 
Millions  whose  names  are  written  in  heaven,  are  now  on  their 
way  to  join  the  Church  of  the  First  Born.     So  finally  it  may 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  PREDESTINATION.  667 

appear  that,  in  accordance  with  this  doctrine  and  as  its  glorious 
result,  an  overwhelming  majority  of  the  entire  human  family 
shall  have  been  rescued  from  perditiom. 

But,  after  all,  will  not  many  be  shut  out  f rom^  the  kingdom  of 
God?  Undoubtedly  such  is  the  truth,  as  made  known  in  God's 
Word.  But  what  has  this  to  do'  witihi  our  doctrine  more  than 
that  of  any  other  christian  church?  Do  not  all  admit  that 
such  will  be  finally  the  case?  These  persons  will  be  lost  on 
any  system  founded  on  the  Bible.  Tihe  bitterest  opponents  of 
our  doctrine  admit  this  truth.  Then  why  in  conscience  impute 
to  our  doctrine  the  loss  of  souls  which  will  be  lost  as  they 
allow  that  doctrine  being  supposed  untrue?  It  was  pos- 
sible for  God  to  have  saved  all — ^but  He  does  not  save  all. 
Many  peris;h.  It  is  owing  to  electing  love  that  any,  that 
the  great  mass  will  be  redeemed.  Predestination  benefits 
millions  of  millions.  The  doctrine  that  rejects  it  does  not 
benefit  a  single  additional  soul.  Every  voice  in  heaven  will 
be  attuned  to  the  praise  of  God's  eternal  purpose  of  mercy 
and  to  Christ's  efficacious  grace — not  one  will  be  found  there 
whose  name  was  not  written  from  eternity  in  the  Book  of 
Life.  Every  voice  in  hell  will  be  lifted  up  in  self-condemna- 
tion and  not  one  will  be  able  to  lay  his  damnation  to  God's 
charge,  but  will  exclaim,  "I  'have  destroyed  myself." 

There  is  an  overwhelming  mystery  in  this  subject,  but  it 
lies  far  aback  of  predestination.  It  is  equally  common  to 
every  view  of  Christianity,  nay,  to  Deism  itself,  and  is  in  no 
degree  mitigated  by  denying  this  doctrine  or  by  embracing  any 
form  of  error  or  infidelity.  It  is  the  one  great  and  only  diffi- 
culty in  all  theology,  the  origin  of  evil  and  its  admission  into 
the  system  of  an  almighty  and  infinitely  wise  and  gracious 
God.  Resolve  this  difficulty  and  all  else  is  clear.  And  when 
you  tell  us  why  God  saw  best  to  permit  the  entrance  of  sin 
through  the  agency  of  a  tempter,  and  how  He  will  make  it 
work  to  the  everlasting  welfare  of  the  wide  universe,  then  will 
we  tell  you  why  God  elected  only  a  part  of  the  ruined  race 
and  left  a  part  of  this  race  to  make  an  exhibition  of  the 
working  of  sin  by  obstinate  rejection  of  the  offers  of  His 
mercy.  What  shall  we  say  then?  Is  there  unrighteousness 
with  God?     God  forbid. 


668  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  PREDESTINATION. 

But  while  God,  as  He  is  manifested  in  this  doctrine,  is  sur- 
rounded with  clouds  and  darkness.  He  is  at  the  same  time 
gloriously  exalted.  Most  puerile  are  the  conceptions  which 
many  allow  themselves  to  entertain  of  God.  With  them  the 
creature  is  everything  and  the  Creator  nothing — and  among 
the  creatures  man  alone  is  to  be  regarded  and  all  other  worlds 
to  be  overlooked.  God,  therefore,  is  made  a  General  Superin- 
tendent of  the  affairs  of  men  and  lives  merely  to  promote  their 
happiness  and  comfort.  Men,  therefore,  must  be  left  at  lib- 
erty and  God  restrained.  Men  must  be  saved  and  God's  law 
dishonored.  Let  the  universe  perish — this  world  must  not 
suffer.  "O,  man,  who  art  thou  that  repliest  against  God," 
the  high  and  mighty  Ruler  of  the  universe?  God  does  not 
live  for  the  universe,  but  the  universe  for  God.  The  universe 
does  not  exist  for  man,  but  man  for  the  universe.  God  is  a 
Sovereign.  His  will  is  law.  His  law  is  right;  and  from  His 
sentence  there  is  no  appeal.  God  is  not  an  agent — He  is  our 
Judge — the  Governor  among  the  nations — the  moral  Governor 
of  the  universe. 

But  while  justice  and  judgment  are  the  habitation  of  His 
throne,  and  we  are  here  called  to  read  and  ponder  upon  His 
righteous  severity — behold,  also,  His  goodness  and  mercy. 
His  was  the  purpose  of  redemption  in  the  very  counsels  of 
eternity.  Where  all  were  lost — He  it  was  whose  eye  pitied 
and  whose  arm  brought  salvation.  Where  all  were  worthy 
of  hell — His  mercy  it  was  to  prepare  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
and  to  fill  it  with  that  ransomed  throng  whose  praises  shall 
swell  the  anthem  of  eternity.  When  it  was  deemed  necessary 
to  leave  a  portion  of  this  race  to  their  own  voluntary  choice — 
it  was  His  godlike  clemency  to  bear  with  them,  to  make  them 
partakers  of  every  temporal  favor,  to  open  up  to  them  every 
means  of  grace,  and  to  exercise  toward  them  long  suffering 
and  forbearance.  And  when  the  price  of  our  redemption 
was  the  blood  of  Christ — He  it  was  who  so  loved  the  world, 
that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son.  Oh,,  the  depth  of  the 
riches,  both  of  the  justice  and  mercy  of  God ;  how  unsearchable 
are  His  judgments  and  His  love  past  finding  out ! 

And  when  we  contemplate  God  as  moral  Governor  of  the 
universe — when  we  consider  our  world's  apostacy  in  relation 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  PREDESTINATION.  669 

to  Other  portions  of  this  universal  empire,  and  the  bearing 
which  its  history  and  example  may  have  upon  the  destiny  of 
millions  of  worlds ;  and  when  we  consider  how  needful  it  may 
thus  be  to  declare  unto  principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly 
places  the  true  nature,  working  and  consequences  of  sin,  may 
we  not  perceive  how  this  very  law  of  predestination,  and  the 
consequent  abandonment  of  the  reprobate  to  the  penalty  of  the 
law,  may,  throughout  eternity,  and  in  all  worlds,  constitute 
the  great  remedial  provision  against  future  rebellions,  and  thus 
ultimately  secure  the  happiness  and  establish  the  holiness  of 
this  illimitable  dominion  ?  What  a  view  of  sin  is  'hereby  given 
to  all  who  contemplate  our  history !  All  mimed  by  its  first 
commission;  all  provisionally  rescued  from  its  immediate 
results ;  all  put  upon  a  probationary  dispensation  of  mercy ;  all 
offered  an  amnesty — all,  however  sullenly  rejecting  these  over- 
tures of  reconciliation.  Not  one  redeemed  fro'm  this  dreadful 
curse  but  those  "whom  God  did  predesitimate ;  whom  He  also 
called;  whom  He  also  justified;  whom  He  also  glorified."  The 
fires  and  the  smoke  of  ihell  may  thus  constitute  the  great  beacon 
of  the  universe  proclaiming  to  every  eye :  Behold  the  goodness 
and  severity  of  God — on  them  who'  fell  severity — on  them  who 
are  saved  goodness.  Continue  thou  in  His  goodness,  other- 
wise thou  also  shall  be  cut  off. 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  EVIL, 


A  DISCOURSE 

BY 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 
Charleston,  S.  C. 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  EVIL. 


EccLESiASTES  VII :  29. 

Lo,  this  only  have  I  found,  that  God  hath  made  man  upright ;  but  they 
have  sought  out  many  inventions. 

The  sacred  historian,  in  his  brief  narrative,  seems  to^  have 
had  two  objects  in  view — and  having  satisfied  these,  to  have 
neglected  the  questions  which  curiosity  might  have  suggested. 
These  objects  seem  to  have  been,  the  confutation  of  all  systems 
of  materialism  and  idolatry,  and  the  replying,  by  anticipation, 
to  the  much  agitated  question,  whence  is  evil?  The  former 
object  he  effects  by  proving,  that  in  creation  everything  is  the 
result  of  design — nothing  of  chance — by  ascribing  to  the 
agency  of  mind  the  creation  of  matter,  the  production  of 
motion,  the  existence  and  form  of  the  visible  world ;  by  prov- 
ing that  the  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars — which  were  the  usual 
objects  of  idolatry — with  all  the  host  of  heaven,  were  but  called 
into  being,  and  made  receptacles  or  vehicles  of  light,  by  Him 
who  likewise  created  man  in  His  own  image,  to  be  the  lord 
and  master  of  this  globe — His  last,  most  perfect  work.  To  the 
latter  question  he  has  suggested  the  answer  which  is  contained 
in  the  text ;  and  as  he  knew  that  no  solution  of  the  difficulty 
could  perfectly  satisfy  creatures  so  inquisitive,  so  ignorant  as 
men,  he  declares  the  facts,  without  comment  or  explanation; 
"God  made  man  upright,  but  he  sought  out  many  inventions." 
Although  created  finitely  perfect,  man  required  probation ;  his 
faculties  may  have  demanded  exercise,  as  they  were  susceptible 
of  improvement ;  and  to  the  full  development  of  his  powers, 
discipline  and  employment  may  have  been  requisite ;  even 
through  the  eternity  of  bliss  which  the  benevolence  of  God 
had  provided,  dispositions  which  naturally  could  be  elicited 
and  confirmed  but  by  a  state  of  probation  successfully  sus- 
tained, might  be  necessary;  and  it  seemed  more  according  to 
the  wisdom  of  God  that  man  should  by  a  course  of  trial  draw 
forth  and  perfect  such  dispositions,  than  that  they  should  be 
impressed  at  once  on  'his  unresisting  mind.  We  know  not  if  a 
finite  being,  however  excellent,  can  ever  be  rendered  absolutely 

43_Vol.  X. 


674  THU  ORIGIN  OF  EVIL. 

independent  of  the  danger  of  falling,  but  we  can  easily  con- 
ceive that  the  habits  of  patience,  and  self-denial  and  obedience, 
enforced  by  a  sense  of  duty,  and  chastised  by  a  feeling  of 
dependence,  may  be  supremely  useful  in  lessening  that  danger, 
nay,  in  removing  its  moral  possibility.  From  these  considera- 
tions it  appears  that  there  might  exist  a  moral  necessity  for 
placing  the  protoplast  in  a  state  of  probation,  for  connecting 
his  future  happiness  and  perfection  with  his  unforced  but  not 
unassisted  obedience ;  and  such  towards  him  was  the  dealing 
of  the  Supreme  Being — his  situation  was  such,  that  all  the 
powers  of  his  animal  frame,  and  all  the  faculties  of  his  intel- 
lect, and  all  the  sensibilities  of  his  nature  were  called  into 
exercise  with  enforced  and  unwearied  alternation;  while  to 
employ  those  powers  and  to  direct  those  faculties  and  to  chas- 
tise those  feelings,  he  was  submitted  to  the  operation  of  a  law, 
the  peculiar  nature  of  which  should  call  into  action  those  prin- 
ciples whose  influence  might  be  essential  through  eternity;  a 
law  which  was  suited  to  the  singular  situation  in  which  man 
was  placed — and  which  while  by  the  frequent  recurrence  of 
the  object  of  prohibition,  it  enforced  constant  attention  to  its 
precepts  and  a  perpetual  exercise  of  faith  and  self-denial  and 
resignation — so,  by  its  solemn  and  mysterious  sanction,  and  by 
the  symbolical  nature  of  its  sacramental  tests  of  conformity, 
the  mind  was  led  to  considerations  beyond  the  mere  prohibi- 
tion, to  a  higher  and  more  exalted  view  of  the  everlasting  deal- 
ings of  God. 

The  prohibition  of  the  tree  of  knowledge,  with  its  sanction, 
and  the  promise  which  is  implicitly  contained  in  it,  though  the 
only  law  which  Moses  has  recorded  as  given  to  man,  and 
though  the  only  one  on  which,  as  a  condition,  man's  favor  with 
God  primarily  depended,  we  cannot  necessarily  conclude  to 
have  been  the  only  one  revealed.  That  intercourse  with  the 
Supreme,  to  which  our  first  parent  was  admitted,  could  not 
have  been  enjoyed  without  his  receiving  manifold  additions 
of  knowledge  and  of  wisdom ;  nor  can  we  conceive  Adam  to 
have  had  but  the  single  negative  precept  which  Moses  has 
recorded,  but  by  circumscribing  the  duration  of  his  paradisiacal 
state  within  a  period  too  limited  for  the  events  which  are 
allotted  to  it.     Adam  seems  to  have  been  considered  by  his 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  EVIL.  675 

Maker,  as  the  anticipated  parent  of  the  human  race ;  the  future 
founder  of  a  social  state — as  such  the  laws  and  sanctions  under 
which  that  society  could  subsist  must  have  been  in  some  degree 
communicated  by  its  Author;  the  solemn  blessing,  "be  fruitful 
and  multiply,  and  replenish  the  earth  and  subdue  it,"  while  it 
intimates  the  spreading  of  the  human  race,  and  the  gradual 
conquest  and  cultivation  of  the  globe,  must  imply  some  pre- 
cepts, for  the  direction  of  that  society;  some  law,  whether 
impressed  on  the  mind,  with  its  sanctions,  or  revealed  orally, 
as  was  the  prohibition,  but  in  each  case  understood  and 
acquiesced  in.  "Sin,"  we  are  told  by  the  apostle,  is  not  to  be 
counted  sin,  when  there  is  no  "law,"  and  yet  we  find  that  sin 
was  counted  to  Adam's  posterity  before  the  existence  of  any 
formal  law ;  had  there  been  no  law,  by  the  apostle's  reasoning, 
the  blood  of  the  pious  Abel  could  not  have  cried  unto  its 
Maker  from  the  earth ;  had  there  been  no  law,  the  Spirit  of 
God  could  not  have  striven  with  man  to  recall  him  to  the  path 
of  holiness,  and  obedience,  nor  could  the  wickedness  of  man's 
heart,  "whose  thoughts  were  continually  evil,"  have  called 
from  divine  vengeance  the  extinction  of  the  human  race.  The 
existence,  then,  and  judgment  of  evil,  imply  a  law  of  whose 
existence  and  sanction  we  can  scarcely  suppose  our  first 
parents  to  have  been  ignorant;  and  the  silence  of  the  sacred 
writer  can  surely  not  be  regarded  as  conclusive  against  it,  when 
we  recollect  that  he  has  passed  over,  in  the  same  silence,  the 
institution  and  nature  of  sacrifice,  whose  revelation  from  God 
Himself,  immediately  subsequent  to  the  fall,  few  divines  can 
now  be  found  bold  enough  to  deny. 

Under  such  a  dispensation  do  I  conceive  that  we  are 
authorized  by  Scripture  to  suppose  that  our  first  parents 
were  placed' — ^with  a  sacramental  test  of  obedience  pro- 
posed— a  solemn  and  mysterious  sanction  connectedi  with 
it — and,  "in  the  threatening,"  says  the  pious  Bishop  Beveridge, 
"a  promise  implied,  that  if  he  did  not  eat  he  should  not  die, 
but  live ;"  but  Adam  disregarded  the  penalty — forgot  the 
promise,  and  by  deliberately  violating  the  command  proposed, 
threw  off  his  allegiance  to  his  Maker,  and  introduced  into  the 
world  sin  and  death — it  has  been  made  a  question  in  the 
christian  world,  whether  the  sin  of  our  first  parent  attaches  by 


Q'iQ  THE  ORIGIN  OF  EVIL. 

imputation  to  his  posterity — whether  they  sinned  in  Adam,  and 
by  that  sin  are  obnoxious  to  the  punishment  which  divine  jus- 
tice ordained  for  Adam's  disobedience.  I  know  not  if  inquiry 
would  do  more  than  collect  probabilities  for  either  side  of  a 
question,  perhaps  beyond  the  limits  of  Scripture,  perhaps 
inextricable ;  but  of  one  important  fact  we  have  personal  and 
independent  proof,  that  the  consequences  of  his  disobedience 
are  entailed  on  the  offspring  of  the  guilty  Adam.  We  know 
equally  from  Scripture  and  experience,  that  manifold  death, 
which,  commencing  with  spiritual  alienation,  conducts  through 
the  gates  of  temporal  death  to  the  awful  and  unseen  state  of 
retribution ;  and  we  can  scarcely  suppose  that  we,  Adam's  pos- 
terity, should  be  obnoxious  to  a  more  tremendous  penalty  than 
he  was — the  author  of  our  evil. 

To  us  the  senitence  passed  on  our  first  parents  must  ever  be 
a  subject  of  deep,  though  painful  interest,  but  it  may  be  ever 
made  a  subject  of  dispute  and  conjecture;  on  another  more 
important  subject  we  are  not  left  to  conjecture,  as  to  the  effect 
which  that  sentence  and  its  cause  have  produced  on  mankind; 
and  however  speculatists  may  differ  as  tO'  the  mode  in  which 
original  sin  has  been  communicated,  one  appalling  truth  must 
be  confessed,  that  every  man  Who  is  born  intO'  the  world  is  sub- 
ject to  that  corruption  which  naturally  is  engendered  of  the 
offspring  of  Adam,  whereby  he  is  of  his  own  nature  inclined  to 
evil,  so  that  the  "flesh  lusteth  always  contrary  to  the  spirit." 
To  Adam,  we  are  told,  was  born  a  son,  not  in  the  image  of  God, 
but  of  his  own  degraded  character,  and  this  character  has  been 
communicated  "naturally"  to  his  latest  posterity — hence,  then, 
as  sharing  in  that  image  which  is  the  broken  and  mutilated 
impress  of  Divinity,  man  must  be,  in  himself,  alien  from  God ; 
and  while,  in  the  words  of  the  prophet,  he  bears  bis  own  sins, 
and  not  bis  father's,  he,  for  those  sins,  must  be  liable  to  eternal 
death;  the  being  who,  created  upright,  sought  out  invention 
even  in  paradise,  has  never  ceased  insulting  God  and  degrading 
man  by  similar  attempts ;  his  first  invention  was  rebellion,  his 
second  deceit;  with  ungrateful  facility  he  listened  to  the 
tempter,  and  with  temerity  the  most  shameless  he  attempted 
to  cast  on  others,  even  on  God  Himself,  the  crime  which  he  had 
committed!     And  how  has  he  sought  out  gods   for  himself, 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  EVIL.  677 

and  from  the  absurdities  of  ancient  idolatry  to  the  bold  impie- 
ties of  modern  infidelity,  deserted  God  and  given  glory  to 
his  own  inventions! — how  often  applying  those  inventions  to 
the  book  of  revelation,  have  men  substituted  a  gospel  of  their 
own  for  that  which  was  once  delivered  unto  the  saints,  and 
sought  to  support  an  inadequate  practice  by  a  mutilated  rule — 
and,  oh !  how  often  expelling  God  from  all  their  thoughts,  and 
adorning  with  the  trappings  of  idolatry  the  world,  the  devil, 
or  their  own  unruly  passions,  do  they  fall  down  and  worship 
the  very  image  which  is  the  result  of  their  inventions !  While 
Scripture  tells  us,  "God  made  man  upright,"  reason  and  experi- 
ence convince  us  that  "be  has  sought  out  many  inventions," 

Who  that  had  read  the  melancholy  record  of  man's  apostasy 
to  wbich  my  text  refers,  who  had  contrasted  the  once  blessed 
state  of  our  first  parents  with  man's  present  state  of  alienation 
and  abasement,  but  must  wish  to  have  that  state  restored 
and  man's  nature  so  renewed,  that  he  could  be  again  admitted 
to  enjoy  that  intercourse,  and  dwell  in  the  light  of  the  counte- 
nance of  his  God?  And  this  has  been  effected  for  us  in 
Christ — Christ  is  able  to  save,  for  He  was  the  Creator  and  will 
be  the  Judge  of  every  penitent  sinner;  Christ  is  willing,  for 
He  was  promised  as  a  deliverer,  while  yet  the  guilty  parents 
of  mankind  trembled  before  their  God;  and  in  the  fulness  of 
time  He  assumed  the  nature  of  man,  and  divested  Himself  of 
His  own  and  His  Father's  glory,  that  He  might  remedy  those 
evils  which  sin  had  introduced.  "Where  sin  abounded,  grace 
did  much  more  abound,"  and  man  is  by  the  incarnation,  death 
and  intercession  of  the  Redeemer,  more  eminently  gifted  with 
the  means  of  grace  than  even  our  first  parents  in  paradise. 
We  have  in  Christ  our  atonement,  not  only  for  original  sin, 
but  for  actual  sin — a  fount  not  only  to  cleanse  us  from  the 
pollution  we  have  contracted  by  descent,  but  to  purify  us  of 
our  voluntary  transgressions — an  assurance  not  only  that  if  we 
walk  upright  in  His  sight  we  shall  be  received,  but  that  the 
broken  and  contrite  spirit  is  a  sacrifice  well  pleasing,  that  the 
supplication  of  repentance  never  returns  void  to  the  bosom  of 
the  penitent. 

My  beloved,  you  have  heard  the  tidings  of  mercy,  you  have 
heard  the  penalty  of  death,  you  have  heard  that  "death  has 


678  THE  ORIGIN  OF  EVIL. 

passed  upon  all  men  because  all  have  sinned,"  but  you  have 
also  heard  that  you  may  "joy  in  God,  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  we  have  received  the  atonement."  May 
the  awful  denunciation  exhort  you  to  flee  that  death !  May 
the  promises  of  reconciliation,  peace,  and  joy,  lead  you  to  seek 
that  atonement!  Be  assured  that  however  remote  may  be  the. 
cause,  or  however  mysterious  the  coimmumication  of  sin,  it 
lyeth  at  the  door  of  each — however  you  may  disregard 
the  warning,  or  however  you  may  speculate  away  its 
importance,  that  "sin  will  one  day  find  you  out."  Strong 
as  is  the  language  of  Scripture  in  depicting  the  evil  of 
sin,  it  but  states  a  fact  obvious  from  its  excess,  and  lamentable 
from  its  widespread  influence — the  depravity  of  mankind ;  but 
in  the  atonement  of  the  Saviour  it  presents  a  remedy  com- 
mensurable to  the  evil — the  sanctifying  influences  of  His  grace, 
the  renewing  of  our  fallen  nature,  the  assimilation  of  man  to 
God !  Eden  was  forfeited  by  our  first  parents,  but  He  has 
provided  for  their  believing  posterity  a  new  heaven,  and  a  new 
earth;  death  was  incurred  by  their  guilt,  and  pain  and  sorrow 
and  misery  assured;  but  in  His  Father's  house  there  shall  be 
no  more  death,  nor  sorrow,  nor  pain;  all  these  have  passed 
away,  the  tree  of  knowledge  shall  no  more  bear  the  bitter  fruit 
of  anguish  and  remorse,  and  "the  tree  of  life"  shall  "blossom" 
and  put  forth  "those  leaves  which  are  for  the  healing  of  the 
nations,"  the  "glory  of  the  Lord  God  giveth  light,"  and  "who- 
soever will,  may  take  of  the  water  of  life  freely." 


PAUL'S  RESOURCE  UNDER 
TRIAL. 


A  SERMON 

BY 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 
Charleston,  S.  C. 


PAUL'S  RESOURCE  UNDER  TRIAL. 


2  Corinthians  xii  :  8,  9. 

For  this  thing  I  besought  the  Lord  thrice,  that  it  might  depart  from  me. 
And  He  said  unto  me,  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee  ;  for  my  strength  is 
made  perfect  in  weakness. 

Prayer  has  always  been  one  of  the  most  delightful  occupa- 
tions of  the  children  of  God  in  every  age,  and  the  constant 
resource  of  the  afflicted  believer  in  every  time  of  anguish  or 
distress.  All  the  saints  whose  history  is  recorded  in  Scripture 
for  our  example  and  encouragement  were  men  of  prayer. 
Jesus  Himself  was  a  man  of  prayer,  and  illustrated  the  instruc- 
tions which  He  has  left  to  His  people  upon  this  point  by  a  life 
of  earnest  and  unceasing  devotion. 

The  apostle  informed  us,  that  prayer  was  his  resource  when 
he  was  afflicted  with  the  thorn  in  his  flesh.  "For  this  thing," 
says  he,  "I  besought  the  Lord  thrice,  that  it  might  depart 
from  me." 

The  prayer  which  he  offered  up  was  earnest  and  impor- 
tunate. He  "besought  the  Lord."  There  was  no  mere 
formality  in  the  apostle's  manner,  as  if  he  did  not  care 
whether  his  supplications  were  heard  or  not.  So  requisite  is 
earnestness,  as  an  inseparable  characteristic  of  prayer,  that 
Christ  sometimes  appeared  at  first  unwilling  to  grant  the  peti- 
tions of  those  who  came  to  Him  for  help,  in  order  to  increase 
the  urgency  and  importunity  of  their  requests.  How  many 
prayers  are  nothing  more  than  cold  and  formal  expressions  of 
vague  desire,  which  want  this  essential  attribute  of  holy  and 
deep  felt  earnestness !  And  why  is  this  ?  Simply  because  we 
are  not  sufficiently  impressed  with  a  sense  of  our  necessities. 
And  how  lamentable  it  is,  that  prayers  for  spiritual  mercies, 
which  are  most  of  all  required,  are  more  generally  destitute 
of  this  quality.  Such  is  the  moral  blinidness  of  our  mature 
that  we  do'  not  feel  the  want  of  spiritual  blessings  sO'  much  as 
of  temporal.  We  manifest  the  greatest  amount  of  earnestness 
in  prayers  when  we  are  suffering  beneath  the  pressure  of  some 
severe  affliction,  which  causes  pain  to  our  natural  feelings. 
And  in  this  circumstance  we  see  an  important  and  valuable 


684  Paul's  resource  under  trial. 

object  of  such  trials.  They  are  part  of  that  discipHn^  which 
the  Lord  employs  in  order  to  teach  us  how  to  pray.  Happy 
and  blessed  is  that  man,  who  is  brought  by  his  trials  to  a  throne 
of  grace !  Let  such  a  man  commence  his  petitions  by  thanking 
his  heavenly  Father  for  the  affliction  which  brought  him  there. 
But  happier  will  he  be,  when  his  prayers  shall  be  chiefly  occu- 
pied with  supplications  for  spiritual  mercies,  in  obedience  to 
the  divine  direction,  to  seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His 
righteousness,  and  to  trust  to  the  faithfulness  of  God  for  the 
fulfillment  of  His  promise,  that  all  other  things  shall  be  added 
unto  him. 

But  the  apostle  prayed  repeatedly;  for  the  word  "thrice" 
may  be  used  as  a  definite  for  an  indefinite  number.  He  con- 
tinued to  pray  until  he  received  an  answer.  And  so  should 
every  believer  return  again  and  again  to  a  throne  of  grace, 
"praying  always  with  all  prayer  and  supplication  in  the  spirit, 
and  watching  thereunto  with  all  perseverance."  If  it  be  asked, 
how  often  shall  we  pray  to  God  for  any  blessing  we  require, 
or  for  any  merciful  interposition  which  we  stand  in  need  of, 
nature  will  scarcely  answer,  until  seven  times.  But  grace  will 
reply,  not  merely  until  seventy  times  seven,  but  until  we  shall 
receive  an  answer  to  our  prayers.  And  why  is  this?  Because 
grace  knows  of  no  limitation  to  her  confidence  in  the  infinite 
loving-kindness  and  mercy  of  God.  Faith  tells  the  christian 
that  God  is  wise,  and  powerful,  and  good;  and  grace  reposes 
with  unalterable  confidence  upon  this  great  foundation.  It 
was  thus  with  the  Apostle  Paul :  a  sense  of  his  weakness  made 
him  pray  with  earnestness ;  while  faith,  in  the  unlimited  power 
and  paternal  love  of  God,  made  him  pray  with  frequency. 

But  let  us  consider  the  matter  of  the  apostle's  prayer.  "For 
this  thing  I  besought  the  Lord  thrice,"  says  he,  "that  it  might 
depart  from  me."  And  this  will  bring  us  to  see  what  was 
wrong  in  this  petition.  Wrong !  some  one  may  exclaim :  could 
the  Apostle  Paul  have  committed  an  error  in  his  prayers? 
Could  one  who  was  so  distinguished  by  the  miraculous  gifts 
of  the  Spirit  of  God  have  fallen  into  mistake  in  the  character 
of  his  petition  at  a  throne  of  grace?  We  answer,  without 
hesitation,  in  the  affirmative.  It  was  not  the  object  of  the 
Spirit,  in  dispensing  his  extraordinary  gifts,  to  teach  men  how 


PAULAS  RESOURCE  UNDER  TRIAL.  685 

to  pray.  This  belongs  to  his  ordinary  and  sanctifying  opera- 
tions, of  which  every  christian  is  more  or  less  subject. 
For  as  there  is  no  limitation  in  the  assertion,  that  "we  know 
not  what  we  should  pray  for  as  we  ought,"  so  neither  is  there 
any  in  the  gracious  declaration,  which  immediately  follows, 
''but  the  Spirit  itself  maketb  intercession  for  us,  with 
groanings  which  cannot  'be  uttered."  The  experience  of  the 
most  eminent  of  the  apostles,  in  his  individual  capacity  as 
a  sinner,  saved  by  grace,  was  in  nothing  different  from  that  of 
any  other  member  of  the  church.  Wherein,  then,  did  the  error 
of  Paul  consist?  We  answer,  he  did  not  look  sufficiently  for 
the  teaching  of  that  Spirit  who  helpeth  our  infirmities.  There 
was,  consequently,  a  preface  wanting  to  his  prayer ;  he  should 
have  commenced  by  saying,  "if  it  be  possible."  And  there 
was  also  an  appendix  wanting,  for  he  should  have  concluded 
with  an  expression  of  readiness  to  acquiesce  in  the  disposing 
power  of  God,  by  saying,  "nevertheless  not  my  will,  but  thine 
be  done."  It  was  thus  the  man  of  sorrows  prayed,  under  the 
pressure  of  an  agony  heavier  far  than  ever  mortal  knew,  or 
than  ever  an  apostle  endured !  Instead  of  thus  qualifying  his 
petitions,  Paul  simply  besought  the  Lord  that  the  thorn  in  the 
flesh  might  depart  from  him.  But  in  this  he  was  assuming 
the  office  of  the  physician  and  prescribing  for  his  own  case,  or 
rather  was  foolishly  praying  that  the  remedy  might  be  with- 
drawn before  the  cure  had  been  effected. 

And  if  we  examine  the  state  of  our  own  hearts  in  prayer, 
we  shall  too  often  find  this  tendency  to  dictate,  instead  of  to 
submit.  How  frequently  do  we  ask  for  what  it  is  neither  con- 
sistent with  the  will  of  God  to  grant,  nor  with  our  welfare  to 
receive.  With  the  will  of  God,  did  we  say?  With  his  mercy 
we  should  have  said :  for  there  is  mercy  in  withholding  as  well 
as  in  bestowing.  Whenever  we  do  not  receive  an  answer  to 
our  repeated  supplications,  we  should  suspect  that  there  has 
been  something  in  them  which  the  Lord  does  not  approve  of. 
The  believer,  if  left  to  the  mere  impulse  of  his  natural  feel- 
ings, would  often  give  expression  to  petitions,  at  which  devils 
might  rejoice,  but  on  account  of  which  angels  would  pity  us 
and  weep.  There  is  nothing,  then,  that  we  should  more  guard 
against  in  our  devotional  engagements,  than  the  unqualified 


686  Paul's  resource;  under  trial. 

manifestation  of  merely  natural  feelings.  How  often  may  we 
see  the  fond  christian  mother  kneeling  in  mournful  anxiety 
over  th«  couch  of  her  beloved  child,  who  lies  before  her  in  all 
the  pain  and  feebleness  of  some  dangerous  sickness,  and  pray- 
ing, without  reservation,  that  the  Father  of  Mercies  would 
restore  the  dear  object  of  her  tenderest  love  to  the  youthful 
gaiety  and  gracefulness  of  health.  And  no  doubt  such  a  peti- 
tion is  the  suggestion  of  strong  natural  affection,  yet  it  should 
never  ascend  to  the  throne  of  God,  unless  accompanied  with 
a  willing  submission  to  the  sovereign  arrangements  of  heaven. 
In  prayer,  especially,  our  spiritual  principles  should  control 
our  feelings  of  natural  affection  and  desire.  Our  souls  should 
always  bend  in  humble  submission  to  the  arrangements  of  Him 
who  knoweth  our  necessities  before  we  ask,  and  our  ignorance 
in  asking,  and  whose  compassion  will  ever  lead  Him  to  grant 
us  those  blessings  which  for  our  unworthiness  we  dare  not 
and  for  our  blindness  we  cannot  ask. 

And  let  us  not  suppose  that  our  petitions,  though  not  granted, 
are  not  of  any  service  to  us.  Prayer  has  chiefly  for  its  object 
the  benefit  of  him  who  engaged  in  it,  and  it  is  the  exercise  of 
prayer,  and  not  the  answer  only,  that  confers  benefit  upon  the 
soul.  There  is  a  principle  of  reaction  in  spiritual  as  well  as 
in  natural  things,  and  this  remark  is  applicable  in  a  special 
manner  to  the  subject  of  prayer.  Our  supplications  are 
ofifered — they  ascend  to  heaven — they  strike  the  mercy  seat 
and  return  again,  bringing  with  them,  if  not  an  answer,  at 
least  an  influence  which  displays  itself  in  the  more  submissive 
resignation  of  the  believer  to  his  trials,  and  in  a  more  settled 
conviction  that  in  Christ  is  all  his  strength. 

Let  prayer  then  be  the  constant  engagement  of  the  christian. 
We  should  pray  because  it  is  our  duty  as  dependent  creatures, 
and  because  it  is  our  privilege  and  enjoyment  as  the  reconciled 
children  of  God.  The  attitude  of  prayer  is  that  in  which  we 
shall  best  be  able  to  meet  and  vanquish  our  spiritual  enemies ; 
and  it  is  an  engagement  to  which  we  are  impelled  by  innumer- 
able arguments,  motives  and  examples,  which  occupy  a  promi- 
nent position  in  the  Word  of  God. 

We  shall  now  proceed  to  consider  the  answer  which  the 
apostle  received  to  his  prayers.     The  Lord  said  unto  him,  "My 


Paul's  resource  under  trial.  687 

grace  is  sufficient  for  thee;  for  my  strength  is  made  perfect 
in  weakness."  It  is  not  stated  in  what  manner  this  answer 
was  conveyed  to  the  apostle,  whether  by  the  Lord's  appearing 
to  him  in  person,  or  in  a  vision.  We  need  not,  however, 
inquire  into  this  point.  It  is  enough  for  us  to  know  that  this 
reply  was  really  received  by  Paul,  and  has  been  recorded  for 
our  instruction. 

Let  us  examine  the  reply.  Every  expression  it  contains  is 
full  of  comfort  and  love.  We  must  consider  them  separately, 
in  order  to  form  some  conception  of  the  immensity  of  meaning 
which  this  merciful  declaration  of  Christ  conveys.  Let  us 
reflect  upon  the  two  first  words  of  it — "My  grace."  It  is  of 
the  grace  wihich  was  in  Himself,  and  not  of  that  which  the 
apostle  may  have  formerly  received,  that  the  Lord  speaks.  It 
hath  pleased  the  Father,  that  in  Christ  should  all  fulness  dwell, 
and  out  of  His  fulness  His  people  may  always  draw  an  abun- 
dant supply  of  strength  and  succor  to  meet  their  wants  But 
grace  is  not  given  all  at  once;  if  it  were,  we  should  soon  forget 
God,  and  fancy  ourselves  to  be  independent  of  Him.  This  is 
forcibly  illustrated  in  the  parable  of  the  prodigal  son.  His 
petition  was  this,  "Father,  give  me  the  portion  of  goods,  that 
falleth  to  me;"  and  his  father  complied  with  his  request,  but 
when  the  son  had  received  his  share,  how  did  he  act?  "He 
gathered  all  together  and  took  his  journey  into  a  farther  coun- 
try, and  there  wasted  his  substance  with  riotous  living."  This 
young  man's  ruin  was  the  effect  of  feeling  himself  independent 
of  his  father ;  and  thus  the  greatest  curse  that  could  happen  to 
man,  is  to  fancy  himself  independent  of  God ;  whilst,  on  the 
other  hand,  his  greatest  blessing  is  to  feel  a  continual  sense  of 
dependence  on  Him.  Let  us  never,  then,  pray  to  God  to  give 
us,  all  at  once,  such  an  amount  of  grace  as  might  lead  us  to 
forget  that  we  are  living  upon  His  daily  bounty.  If  we  pray 
in  reference  to  temporal  blessings,  "give  us  this  day  our  daily 
bread,"  so  should  we  pray  in  reference  to  spiritual  blessings. 
The  promise  is  this,  "As  thy  days  are  so  shall  thy  strength  be." 
As  the  Israelites  gathered  the  manna  in  the  wilderness  from 
day  to  day,  according  as  they  required  it,  so  it  is  with  the 
grace  of  Christ,  which  is  given  to  His  people  in  measured 
quantities,  according  to  their  necessities,  for  "out  of  His  ful- 


688  Paul's  resource  under  triae. 

ness  do  they  all  receive,  and  grace  for  grace."  And  let  us 
notice  the  appropriateness  of  the  Saviour's  promised  mercy. 
It  is  not  any  mercy,  of  a  temporal  kind,  which  he  alludes  to, 
but  to  spiritual  strength  and  support,  which  was  precisely  what 
the  apostle  needed.  The  Lord  always  adapts  the  remedies 
he  employs  to  the  circumstances  of  His  people. 

Let  us  consider  the  two  next  words  in  this  reply — "My  grace 
is  sufficient  for  thee."  But  is  not  the  Saviour's  grace  as 
infinite  as  His  power,  His  wisdom,  or  His  love?  And  does  it 
not  possess  a  height,  and  depth,  and  length,  and  breadth,  which 
we  can  never  realize  or  understand  ?  Unquestionably  it  does ; 
but  as  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  the  apostle  were  chiefly 
dwelling  upon  his  own  particular  case,  the  Saviour,  in  kind- 
ness, speaks  more  directly  in  reference  to  that  which  was  fore- 
most in  the  apostle's  mind,  as  if  he  would  not  require  him,  at 
a  time  when  his  mind  was  in  pain  and  distress,  even  to  draw 
the  inference  from  an  announcement  of  the  immensity  of 
divine  grace,  that  that  grace  was  sufficient  for  him  The 
Saviour  may  have  also  intended  to  remind  the  apostle,  that 
His  grace  did  not  require  any  addition,  but  that  it  was  sufficient 
in  itself  to  supply  him  with  an  unfailing  resource  in  his 
heaviest  trials.  The  grace  which  is  in  Jesus  is,  like  His  sacri- 
fice, perfect  and  complete  in  itself.  It  would  be  as  absurd  to 
think  of  adding  to  it,  as  of  adding  to  the  brightness  of  the  sun, 
or  of  increasing  the  mercy,  the  love,  or  the  glory  of  God !  It 
would  be  easier  to  drain  the  ocean  dry,  than  to  exhaust  the 
grace  that  is  in  Christ!  And  let  every  christian  know,  that 
this  merciful  declaration  of  our  great  High  Priest  is  intended 
for  him,  as  well  as  for  Paul.  And,  accordingly,  it  is  expressed 
in  language,  which  can  administer  a  fulness  of  comfort  when- 
ever it  is  read.  Jesus  does  not  say,  "my  grace  shall  be  suffi- 
cient," but  "my  grace  is  sufficient."  If  we  read  this  declara- 
tion today,  tomorrow,  when  walking  in  the  path  of  trial,  or 
lying  on  the  bed  of  death,  we  shall  always  find  it  so  framed, 
as  to  carry  home  an  assurance  of  present  succor,  for  it  always 
reads  thus:  "My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee."  The  Saviour 
never  mocks  His  people  with  the  promise  of  nothing  more 
than  future  help.  His  time  for  relieving  His  afflicted  people 
is  when  they  require  His  interpositions  most,  and  when  they 


PAULAS  RE:S0URCE  under  TRIAIv.  689 

are  calculated  to  effect  for  them  the  greatest  amount  of  good. 
The  motto,  therefore,  which  should  be  inscribed  upon  the  title 
page  of  the  history  of  God's  providence  and  care  of  His  people 
is  this:  "He  is  a  very  present  help  in  every  time  of  trouble." 

But  the  Saviour  adds:  "My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee." 
These  words,  "for  thee,"  must  have  been  especially  welcome 
and  consolatory  to  the  apostle's  mind.  Coming,  as  they  did, 
from  Christ  Himself,  they  richly  rewarded  him  for  all  the 
anxiety  and  painful  suspense  which  he  had  endured,  as  long  as 
his  prayers  remained  unanswered.  They  were  intended  to 
hold  out  a  handle  for  his  faith  to  grasp,  so  as  to  enable  him 
to  appropriate  the  promise  at  once  to  himself,  and  to  lead  him 
to  feel,  without  delay,  that  he  had  a  direct  and  personal  interest 
in  it.  And,  in  this  view,  how  sweet  and  encouraging  are  these 
words !  They  teach  us  that  the  Lord  deals  with  his  people, 
not  in  the  aggregate,  but  in  detail :  that  as  the  good  shepherd 
knows  every  individual  sheep  in  his  flock,  so  the  Lord  knows 
every  mem/ber  of  His  church,  adapting  the  expressions  of  His 
love  to  the  peculiar  wants  and  circumstances  of  each. 

The  answer  of  Christ  contains  this  further  cheering 
announcement,  "My  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness." 
In  the  language  of  Scripture,  any  quality  or  attribute  of  God 
is  said  to  be  made  perfect  when  it  is  so  manifested  and  dis- 
played, as  to  give  a  full  exhibition  and  proof  of  its  inherent 
excellence  and  glory.  Thus  it  is,  that  the  Saviour's  grace  is 
made  perfect  in  weakness,  just  as  His  power  may  be  said  to 
have  been  made  perfect  in  raising  Lazarus  from  the  dead,  since 
that  great  miracle  proved  that  His  ability  was  unlimited  and 
resistless,  by  a  demonstration  which  could  not  have  been 
afforded  if  He  had  only  restored  him  from  sickness  to  health. 
And  thus,  when  the  believer  is  reduced  to  the  lowest  state  of 
weakness  and  distress,  the  strength  of  Christ  is  perfectly  mani- 
fested, as  able  to  afford  him  all  needful  succor  and  support. 
And  whilst  he  is  led  to  feel  that  he  is  nothing  in  himself,  his 
experience  tells  him  that  Christ  is  all  in  all,  and  he  cheerfully 
confides  in  Him,  as  all  his  salvation  and  all  his  desire. 

Let  us  be  careful  whenever  we  repeat  this  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture, to  do  so  with  accuracy.  We  frequently  hear  persons 
using  a  pronoun  before  the  word  "weakness,"  and  saying,  "my 

44_Vol.  X. 


690  Paul's  resource  under  trial. 

weakness,"  "your  weakness,"  or  "his  weakness."  This  is  incor- 
rect, for  there  is  no  pronoun  in  the  original ;  and  it  reduces  the 
force  of  the  Saviour's  language  considerably,  for  it  is  of  weak- 
ness in  the  abstract  that  He  speaks — and  what  is  the  weakness 
of  any  individual  believer  in  comparison  to  this?  We  could 
not,  however,  dispense  with  the  pronoun  "my,"  before  the 
word  "grace,"  for  it  is  this  that  gives  to  the  Saviour's  language 
its  greatest  interest.  To  speak  of  "grace"  abstractedly  would 
impart  but  little  comfort.  We  must  be  likewise  informed 
where  it  is,  and  to  whom  to  look  for  it,  but  this  information 
we  have  in  the  Saviour's  cheering  announcement,  "My  grace 
is  sufficient  for  thee,  for  my  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weak- 
ness." 

The  contrast  which  is  observed  in  the  Saviour's  language, 
between  the  words  "grace"  and  "strength,"  is  deserving  of 
observation.  Everything  which  is  in  Christ,  as  Saviour,  is 
grace.  This  is  the  common  designation  of  every  blessing 
which  is  deposited  with  him  for  the  benefit  of  sinners,  or  is 
rather  the  name  of  an  essential  quality,  which  characterises 
every  gift  which  he  has  received  for  men,  for  every  mercy  is 
freely  and  gratuitously  conferred  through  Him.  Grace,  com- 
bined with  wisdom,  is  the  remedy  for  our  ignorance.  Grace, 
combined  with  love,  is  the  remedy  for  our  guilt.  Grace,  com- 
bined with  the  Omnipotence  of  Jesus,  is  that  strength  which 
is  made  perfect  in  weakness.  Thus,  the  Saviour's  grace,  like 
the  Lamp  of  Prophecy,  is  a  light  which  shineth  in  a  dark  place, 
until  the  day  dawn  and  the  day-star  of  glory  shall  arise.  It  is 
remarkable,  that  Christ  does  not  here  say,  "I  will  grant  thee 
my  grace,"  for  His  people  should  not  require  to  be  told  this. 
They  should  know,  that  He  who  gave  His  life  as  a  sacrifice 
for  sinners,  will,  assuredly,  give  all  needful  grace  to  those  who 
come  to  Him,  in  order  to  make  that  sacrifice  available  for  their 
salvation.  Let  us,  then,  look  to  Him  for  such  grace  as  we 
require,  for  the  "Lord  God  is  a  sun  and  shield ;  the  Lord  will 
give  grace  and  glory;  no  good  thing  will  He  withhold  from 
them  that  walk  uprightly." 


The  Prayers  and  Efforts  of  Believers 

Essential   to   the    Promised 

Triumph  of  the  Church 


A  DISCOURSE 

BY 

The  Rtv.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 
Charleston,  S.  C. 


THE  PRAYERS  AND  EFFORTS  OF  BELIEV- 
ERS ESSENTIAL  TO  THE  PROMISED 
TRIUMPH  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


Psalm  2 :  8. 

Ask  of  me  and  I  shall  give  thee  the  heathen  for  thine  inheritance  and 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  thy  possession. 

That  this  psalm  is  prophetically  descriptive  of  Christ  and 
His  kingdom  cannot  be  doubted  by  any  one  who  believes  in 
the  inspiration  and  infallible  authority  of  the  New  Testament. 
It  opens  with  an  exhibition  of  the  combined  hostility  by  which 
the  nations  of  the  earth  are  confederated  together  against  the 
kingdom  of  God.  The  divine  being  is  then  represented  as 
looking  down  from  His  holy  throne,  and  as  holding  all  such 
efforts  in  derision,  until  the  time  of  His  forbearance  is  past, 
when  He  speaks  unto  them  in  His  wrath.  Jehovah  Himself 
is  next  heard  declaring  the  counsels  of  His  own  immutable 
and  eternal  purpose,  "yet  have  I  set  my  King  upon  the 
holy  hill  of  Zion,"  who  shall  assuredly  reign  notwithstanding 
all  the  opposition  which  may  be  waged  against  Him,  and  con- 
tinue to  spread  His  triumphs  until  He  shall  reign  King  of 
Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords,  and  until  all  the  various  kingdoms 
of  this  world  shall  become  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  of 
His  Christ.  The  everlasting  Son  Himself  is  then  heard  say- 
ing: "I  will  declare  the  decree;  the  Lord  (Jehovah)  hath  said 
unto  me,  thou  art  my  Son,  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee.  Ask 
of  me  and  I  will  give  thee  the  heathen  for  thy  inheritance  and 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  thy  possession,  and  thou 
shalt  break  them  in  pieces  with  a  rod  of  iron ;  thou  shalt  dash 
them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel."  Now,  as  God's  decrees 
must  date  from  eternity,  so  must  that  Sonship  which  is  here 
attributed  to  the  Saviour  be  eternal.  And  as  we  are  also 
taught  that  all  power  and  judgment  are  committed  unto  the 
Son,  we  have  here  a  declaration  of  the  eternal  power  and  God- 
head of  that  second  person  in  the  triune,  Jehovah,  who  was 
in  the  beginning  with  God  and  who  is  God  from  everlasting 
to  everlasting.     Our  business,  however,  is  not  now  vv^ith  the 


696  PRAYERS  AND  EFFORTS  OF  BELIEVERS. 

character  and  claims  of  the  eternal  Son  of  God,  but  with  that 
infallible  determination  respecting  His  throne  and  kingdom 
which  is  here  announced,  and  upon  which  the  church  and 
kingdom  of  Christ  are  still  immovably  based. 

We  are  invited,  therefore,  to  the  consideration  of  the  bless- 
ing here  promised,  the  giver,  and  the  medium  through  Avhich, 
or  the  condition  upon  which,  it  is  bestowed. 

Let  us  then,  in  the  first  place,  attend  to  the  blessing  here 
promised  or  rather  made  over  by  those  two  immutable  things, 
the  promise  and  the  oath  of  Jehovah,  which  can  never  fail 
though  heaven  and  earth  should  pass  away :  "I  will  give  thee 
the  heathen  for  thine  inheritance  and  the  uttermost  parts  of 
the  earth  for  thy  possession." 

This  language  includes  the  kingdom  of  Israel.  This  was 
now  God's  peculiar  people,  of  which  He  was  the  acknowledged 
King.  And  it  was  over  this  chosen  people  the  Son  was  con- 
stituted King,  and  upon  the  holy  hill  of  Zion  He  was  solemnly 
consecrated  as  the  anointed  of  the  Lord.  In  this  capacity 
Christ  had  already  acted,  being  that  Jehovah  who  had  appeared 
unto  the  patriarchs;  the  angel  of  the  covenant,  who  was  known 
as  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob;  that  God  who  guided 
Israel  out  of  Egypt  and  through  the  wilderness,  for  the  rock 
that  followed  them,  says  the  apostle,  was  Christ;  that  Lord 
who  appeared  on  Mount  Sinai  amid  thunderings,  lightnings 
and  tempest ;  and  that  God  who  dwelt  between  the  cherubim, 
and  from  time  to  time  manifested  His  presence  in  the  glory 
of  the  Shekinah.  The  testimony  it  bears  to  Jesus  was  the  new 
spirit  of  prophecy,  since  to  Him  gave  all  the  prophets  witness, 
and  the  reference  they  made  to  Him  was  the  very  sum  and 
substance  of  all  the  sacrifices,  since  He  was  the  Lamb  of  God 
slain  from  the  very  foundation  of  the  world.  David  rejoiced 
to  see  afar  ofif  the  day  of  this  greater  Son,  according  to  the 
flesh,  around  whom  the  light  of  prophecy  continued  to  shine 
amid  the  surrounding  darkness  until,  in  the  full  orbed  splen- 
dour of  mid-day  brightness.  He  was  ushered  into  the  world 
as  "the  King  of  the  Jews."  Thus  when  Herod  consulted  of  the 
wise  men  when  Christ  should  be  born  they  at  once  gave  voice 
to  the  believing  expectation  of  the  Jewish  nation  when  "they 
said  unto  him,  in  Bethlehem  of  Judea,"  for  thus  it  is  written 


PRAYERS  AND  EFFORTS  OF  BELIEVERS.  697 

by  the  prophet :  "And  thou  Bethlehem,  in  the  land  of  Judea, 
art  not  least  among  the  princes  of  Judah,  for  out  of  thee  shall 
come  a  Governor  that  shall  rule  my  people." 

To  the  Jewish  people  did  Christ  first  address  Himself.  To 
them  did  He  devote  the  labours  of  His  incarnate  ministry. 
To  them  did  He  send  forth  the  twelve  and  the  seventy  that 
they  might  proclaim  to  all  that  "the  kingdom  of  heaven  was 
at  hand."  And  when  that  kingdom  had  been  founded  in  His 
"once  oflfering  up  of  Himself  upon  the  cross,"  it  was  in  Jerusa- 
lem His  apostles  were  to  begin  their  labours,  and  it  was  to  the 
Jews  the  proclamation  of  the  gospel  was  to  be  first  announced. 
Although  in  righteous  vengeance  God  has  broken  them  with  a 
rod  of  iron  and  scattered  them  over  the  earth  as  witnesses  for 
the  truth  of  prophecy  and  monuments  of  the  severity  of  the 
divine  wrath,  yet  has  He  not  forgotten  to  be  gracious,  nor  has 
He  cast  off  Israel  forever.  "God  forbid,"  says  the  apostle, 
"God  hath  not  cast  away  His  people  whom  He  foreknew." 
"For  I  would  not,  brethren,  that  ye  should  be  ignorant  of  this 
mystery,  lest  ye  should  be  wise  in  your  own  conceits ;  that 
blindness  in  part  is  happened  to  Israel,  until  the  fulness  of  the 
Gentiles  be  come  in,"  and  then  not  a  few  scattered  converts 
shall  be  made  from  among  them,  as  has  been  the  case  hitherto, 
but  "all  Israel  shall  be  saved,  as  it  is  w^ritten,  there  shall  come 
out  of  Zion  the  deliverer  and  shall  turn  away  ungodliness  from 
Jacob." 

But  while  this  gift  thus  manifestly  extends  to  the  Jewish 
people,  blinded  and  prejudiced  though  they  still  are  against  the 
claims  of  Christ  as  the  true  Messiah,  yet  it  by  no  means  con- 
fines itself  to  them.  It  applies  as  certainly  to  the  Gentiles,  for 
it  embraces  "the  heathen  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth." 
The  former  term  is  on  the  original  "nations,"  a  word  by  which 
the  kingdom  beyond  the  limits  of  Israel  were  specifically  dis- 
tinguished, so  that  these  to  the  very  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth  and  to  the  remotest  ages  of  the  world  are  included  within 
the  wide  and  universal  dominion  of  that  mighty  God  who  shall 
"have  dominion  from  sea  to  sea.  And  all  the  ends  of  the 
earth  shall  remember  and  turn  unto  the  Lord;  and  all  nations 
shall  worship  before  Him.  For  the  kingdom  is  the  Lord's 
and  He  is  the  Governor  among  the  nations."     Such  are  the 


698  PRAYERS  AND  EFFORTS  OF  BEUEVERS. 

glorious  things  spoken  of  the  extent  and  prosperity  of  Zion  by 
ancient  prophets  who  were  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to 
declare  what  things  should  certainly  come  to  pass,  and  such 
also  are  the  practical  views  taken  of  the  extent  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom  throughout  the  New  Testament.  Indeed, 
the  commission  given  by  the  already  ascended  Saviour,  when 
He  was  about  to  take  His  final  departure  from  the  earth  in 
His  incarnate  form,  and  which  at  once  constitutes  the  charter 
of  the  church,  the  code  of  its  institutes  and  the  warrant  of  its 
hopes,  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  republication  of  this 
decree  by  Him  who  had  now  all  power  in  heaven  and  on  earth 
not  only  as  "God  over  all,"  but  also  as  the  Mediator  and  Head 
of  His  church.  The  one  is  the  counterpart  of  the  other — the 
promise  and  its  acceptance.  And  were  there  in  this  prophetic 
grant  anything  hard  to  be  understood,  which  they  that  are 
unstable  and  unlearned  might  wrest  to  their  own  perverse 
opinions,  it  is  made  clear  in  the  voice  of  the  enthroned 
Redeemer  when  He  empowers  His  people  to  go  into  all  the 
world  and  assuring  them  that  He  should  be  with  them  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world. 

Let  us  then  turn  to  the  consideration  of  our  second  topic, 
the  giver  and  author  of  this  Godlike  endowment.  For  if  it 
be  the  highest  object  of  earthly  ambition  to  reign  over  some 
one  kingdom,  what  shall  we  say  of .  His  dominion  which 
embraces  all  the  ends  of  the  earth?  It  is  very  true  that  this 
kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,  nor  like  the  governments  of  the 
earth  which  are  earthly,  while  it  is  of  the  heaven,  heavenly, 
wholly  spiritual  in  its  nature.  But  nevertheless  the  hour 
cometh  when  in  their  separate  spheres  the  kingdoms  of  this 
world  shall  all  become  the  kingdoms  of  the  Lord,  being  gov- 
erned by  a  regard  to  His  laws  and  His  glory. 

This  gift  includes,  therefore,  the  overruling  of  all  the 
powers  and  principalities  of  earth,  so  as  to  secure  an  open 
channel  for  the  gospel  through  which  its  healing  waters  may 
freely  flow.  The  whole  history  of  God's  providence  towards 
nations,  as  well  as  individuals,  will  confirm  and  illustrate  the 
truth  which  it  is  the  avowed  purpose  of  sacred  history  to  bring 
to  light,  "that  the  living  may  know  that  the  most  High  ruleth 
in  the  kingdom  of  men,  and  giveth  it  to  whomsoever  He  will," 


PRAYERS  AND  EFFORTS  OF  BEI.IEVERS.  699 

and  that  He  reigneth  and  ruleth  not  only  among  the  armies 
of  heaven,  but  also  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  none 
being  able  to  stay  His  hand.  The  history  of  Joseph  and  his 
father's  house  in  Egypt ;  of  Israel  during  all  the  period  of  her 
national  existence ;  and  that  of  the  great  empires  of  Egypt, 
Babylon,  Persia,  Greece  and  Rome ;  the  state  of  the  Roman 
empire  during  the  time  of  the  first  promulgation  and  spread 
of  Christianity;  the  revival  of  learning,  the  invention  of  print- 
ing and  the  entire  state  of  European  society  preparatory  to 
the  reformation ;  the  present  progress  of  science  and  of  truth ; 
the  bridging  over  deserts,  and  scaling  impassable  walls,  and 
subjugating  boundless  empires  and  oceans,  thus  making  a 
highway  whereon  the  chariot  of  the  gospel  may  have  free 
course — all  prove  that  as  God  can,  so  He  will,  make  every 
event  to  work  together  at  the  time  and  in  the  manner  which 
He  has  appointed,  for  the  full  accomplishment  of  this  ever- 
lasting decree.  "For  He  is  faithful  who  has  promised  and 
cannot  deny  Himself." 

And  though,  as  in  former  days,  God  for  wise  purposes, 
promotive  of  His  own  glory  and  His  people's  good,  may  permit 
them  that  trouble  His  people  to  increase  and  many  to  rise  up 
against  His  truth ;  yet  shall  He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens 
speak  unto  them  in  His  wrath  and  vex  them  in  His  sore  dis- 
pleasure. Be  wise  now,  therefore,  and  be  instructed  ye  who 
are  thus  openly  rebelling  against  the  Lord  or  conniving  at  such 
traitorous  indifference  to  His  cause. 

But  this  gift  implies  further  the  willing  consecration  of  His 
own  people  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  this  also  God  can  "work 
in  them  both  to  will  and  to  do."  "Both  riches  and  honor  come 
of  God  and  in  His  hand  are  power  and  might,  and  in  His  hand 
it  is  to  make  great  and  to  give  strength  unto  all."  And  the 
same  mighty  power  which  is  able  to  new-create  the  soul  can 
also  work  in  the  hearts  of  them  that  believe  to  realize  that  they 
are  not  their  own,  that  their  bodies,  souls  and  spirits  are  the 
Lord's ;  that  their  silver  and  their  gold  are  His  also,  and  that 
they  are  called  upon  to  employ  all  not  for  their  own  pleasure, 
but  for  the  glory  of  Him  who  has  called  them  by  His  grace. 
And  this  also  God  will  bring  to  pass.  The  present  standard 
of  penurious  charity  will  not  endure.     God's  people  shall  be 


700  PRAYERS  AND  EFFORTS  OF  BFUFVERS. 

willing  in  the  day  of  His  power.  What  He  has  done  He  will 
do  again,  and  what  His  people  were  in  primitive  times  they 
will  be  again.  The  time  is  at  hand  when  christians  will  not 
be  afraid  to  believe  God's  promises,  to  act  upon  His  precepts, 
and  to  carry  out  their  professions ;  and  when,  therefore,  no 
man  will  reckon  aught  that  he  possesses  as  his  own,  but  the 
Lord's,  and  labor  that  he  may  have  to  give  liberally  and  cheer- 
fully to  every  good  work.  Is  it  a  time  for  you  to  dwell  in 
your  ceiled  houses,  to  be  clad  in  silks  and  fine  linen,  to  eat, 
drink  and  be  merry,  "while  the  house  of  God  lieth  in  waste?" 
Why  have  so  many  and  so  heavy  losses  fallen  upon  us,  so 
many  wise  plans  been  brought  to  naught?  Why,  saith  the 
Lord  of  Hosts,  was  all  this?  "Because,"  he  answers,  "of  mine 
house  which  is  waste,  and  my  kingdom  which  is  not  promoted." 
If,  my  brethren,  you  would  enjoy  God's  comforts  in  your  own 
souls,  and  bring  down  His  blessing  upon  all  around  you,  then 
"go  up  to  the  mountain  and  bring  wood,"  be  willing  and  ready 
to  distribute,  and  thus  "build  the  Lord's  house  and  I  will  take 
pleasure  in  it  and  I  will  be  glorified  saith  the  Lord." 

But  it  is  further  implied  in  this  grant  that  God  will  qualify 
and  send  forth  laborers  into  His  vineyard  to  preach  the 
unsearchable  riches  of  Christ.  This  He  hath  done  at  every 
period  when  His  cause  demanded  help. 

Finally,  this  blessing  implies  conversion  of  the  heathen  unto 
God,  and  this  too  God  can  and  will  accomplish.  "It  is  written 
in  the  prophets,  and  they  shall  all  be  taught  of  God.  Every 
man,  therefore,  that  hath  heard  and  that  hath  learned  of  the 
Father  cometh  unto  Christ."  And  the  hour  cometh  when  He 
who  has  been  lifted  up  upon  the  cross  will  draw  all  men  unto 
Him. 

Now  you  perceive  how  this  view  of  the  subject  surrounds 
with  impenetrable  armour  the  cause  of  missions  and  renders 
it  proof  against  all  the  objections  with  which  its  enemies  assail 
it;  and  how,  on  the  other  hand,  it  covers  with  shame  all  the 
professed  friends  of  Christ  who  either  through  fear,  or  covet- 
ousness,  or  unbelief,  are  found  slow  of  heart  to  believe  all  that 
God  has  promised,  and  faint  and  feeble  in  their  endeavors  to 
co-operate  with  God  for  the  full  accomplishment  of  all  His 
purposes.     Is  it  said  that  the  work  is  in  its  very  conception 


PRAYERS  AND  EI^FORTS  OF  BELIEVERS.  701 

impossible?  We  reply,  "with  men  it  is  impossible,  but  with 
God,  whose  work  it  is,  all  things  are  possible,"  and  all  that 
He  has  purposed  certain ;  and  that  as  by  faith  we  believe  that 
the  worlds  were  first  made,  so  by  faith  we  can  as  assuredly 
believe  in  that  new  heaven  and  new  earth  wherein  dwelleth 
righteousness.  Is  it  said  that  the  enterprise  is  visionary? 
We  reply,  that  when  we  remember  that  there  are  600,000,000 
of  our  fellow  beings  still  without  God,  without  hope;  that  in 
engaging  in  this  glorious  work  we  go  forth  to  the  warfare  as 
soldiers  under  the  Captain  of  our  Salvation,  there  can  be  no  zeal 
too  empassioned  and  no  sacrifices  too  great.  And  is  it  alleged 
that  we  have  enough  and  more  than  enough  to  do  at  home? 
We  reply,  that  God  knows  no  home  which  is  to  exclude  the 
claims  of  christian  charity,  and  that  while  he  who  provides 
not  for  his  own  is  worse  than  an  infidel,  he  who  passes  by  the 
claims  of  the  poor  and  the  perishing,  however  distant  and 
estranged,  has  no  pretensions  to  the  charity  of  the  gospel,  or 
the  spirit  of  Christ,  which  combine  in  requiring  us  to  "do  good 
unto  all  men  as  we  have  opportunity  and  to  preach  the  gospel 
to  all  nations." 

What,  then,  let  us  ask  in  conclusion,  is  the  condition  upon 
which  this  gift  is  bestowed?  The  grant,  it  is  true,  is  given 
primarily  and  meritoriously  to  Christ,  and  to  Him  also  must 
we  look  for  that  intercession  by  which  its  consummation  is  to 
be  secured.  But  it  is  as  obvious  that,  as  the  subject  of  such 
a  grant  and  the  instrument  in  such  an  agency,  Christ  must  be 
regarded  not  in  His  character  as  God,  co-equal  and  co-eternal 
with  the  Father,  but  as  the  Mediator  and  Head  of  His  church, 
which  He  purchased  with  His  own  blood ;  which  He  represents 
at  the  right-hand  of  God;  for  which  he  ever  lives  to  make 
intercession.  And  as  Christ  and  His  church  are  one,  and  He 
now  works  out  the  purposes  of  His  will  through  His  members 
here  below,  the  agency  here  given  efficiently  to  Christ  must 
belong  instrumentally  to  His  church  and  people.  For  even 
as  He  ever  lives  a  King  and  Priest  upon  His  throne,  so  does 
He  constitute  them  kings  and  priests  unto  God,  that  through 
Him  strengthening  them  they  may  do  all  things  that  He  has 
commanded  them,  and  that  while  He  intercedes  on  high  they 
may  intercede  on  earth  and  offer  up  prayer  for  the  advance- 


703  PRAYERS  AND  EFf'ORTS  OF  BELIEVERS. 

ment  of  His  cause  continually.  And,  in  like  manner,  as 
Christ  is  still  the  Prophet  and  Teacher  of  His  church,  and  the 
only  source  of  legislative  wisdom,  so  are  His  people  here  below 
His  representatives  in  this  capacity  also,  and  called  upon  to 
preach  the  gospel  to  all  creatures,  teaching  them  to  observe  all 
things  whatsoever  He  has  commanded. 

This  then  is  one  of  the  laws  of  Christ's  kingdom — that  while 
He  is  the  source  of  all  efficiency  and  power,  and  while  God 
alone  is  the  author  and  the  perfecter  of  the  glorious  scheme 
of  man's  redemption,  that  nevertheless  this  divine  efficiency 
is  made  to  co-operate  with  the  instrumentality  of  man  All 
laws  are  adaptations  which  God,  the  only  true  and  efficient 
cause  in  the  universe,  has  appointed  between  means  and  ends; 
and  hence  philosophy  has  taught  us  that  all  the  connection  we 
can  trace  between  causes  and  effects  is  that  of  invariable  ante- 
cedence and  consequence.  And  hence,  there  is  no  more  con- 
nection between  natural  causes  and  their  effects  than  between 
spiritual  causes  and  their  results.  Prayer  is  just  as  much  a 
cause  in  the  spiritual  world  as  is  diligence  in  the  natural  world, 
and  the  dependence  of  success  upon  diligence  in  the  one  case 
is  no  more  a  law  in  the  world  of  providence  than  is  the  con- 
nection between  success  and  prayer  in  the  spiritual  world. 
Both  are  the  arrangements  of  that  Almighty  Being  whose 
prerogative  it  is  to  bless  in  either  case,  and  without  whom  it 
is  just  as  certain  that  the  hand  of  the  diligent  will  not  make 
rich,  as  that  the  wishes  of  the  prayerless  will  not  be  granted. 
And  the  man  who  would  attempt  to  set  the  laws  by  which  all 
things  in  the  kingdom  of  nature  are  governed  at  defiance 
would  be  no  more  certain  to  reap  from  all  his  efforts  only  dis- 
appointment and  regret  than  the  man  who  thinks  to  grow  in 
piety,  or  to  diffuse  that  piety  around  him  without  prayer  and 
a  diligent  discharge  of  every  christian  obligation.  Prayer  and 
effort  are  as  necessary  for  the  procurement  of  spiritual  good, 
as  are  eating  and  drinking  and  exercise  causes  by  which  we 
secure  the  beneficial  effects  of  nourishment  and  strength.  And 
just  as  prayer  and  zeal  are  essential  to  the  spiritual  welfare 
and  progress  of  the  individual  believer,  so  are  they  also  to  the 
vitality  of  particular  churches  and  of  the  church  at  large.  As 
the  promises  will  fail  of  their  accomplishment  in  the  case  of 


PRAYERS  AND  EFFORTS  OF  BELIEVERS.  703 

him  who  is  prayerless,  covetous,  or  neglectful  of  any  means 
of  grace,  so  will  this  and  many  other  promises  made  to 
the  church  fail  consummation  unless  the  church  put  forth  that 
fervent  and  united  prayer,  and  that  correspondent  zeal,  lib- 
erality and  enterprise  which  their  fulfillment  necessarily 
demand.  For  whatever  is  made  the  subject  of  prayer  will 
also  be  found  to  be  the  object  of  commanded  duty.  So  that 
while  it  is  our  business  to  ask,  and  God's  province  to  bless,  it 
is  also  our  solemn  duty  to  give  and  to  labor. 

It  follows  that  the  salvation  of  the  heathen,  although  beyond 
our  ability  to  effect  as  causes,  is  within  our  power  as  instru- 
ments and  that  we  are  therefore  accountable,  to  the  full  extent 
of  this  agency — that  is,  of  our  ability  and  our  opportunity  to 
go,  or  to  give,  or  to  labor,  or  to  pray — for  the  ignorance, 
crimes  and  ultimate  loss  of  any  among  the  heathen;  and  that 
he  who  is  indifferent  to  this  cause  here  on  earth  gives  evidence 
that  he  is  a  self-deceiver,  and  that  when  he  stands  before  God 
in  judgment  he  will  be  condemned  as  an  unjust  and  unmerciful 
steward  of  the  mercies  of  his  God.  And  let  every  man  feel 
that  he  is  bound  to  give  according  to  his  resources,  and  that 
one-tenth  of  his  income  is  the  very  smallest  amount  which  any 
man  can  give,  whether  he  takes  for  his  standard  the  amount 
required  of  God's  ancient  people,  the  amount  given  by  all 
nations  and  the  people  of  all  other  religions,  or  the  amount 
required  and  given  by  christians. 

In  conclusion  let  me  remind  you  that  of  all  we  do  or  attain 
to  in  this  world,  only  that  which  concerns  the  glory  of  God, 
shall  go  with  us  into  eternity.  When  once  we  shall  have 
entered  into  that  world  where  we  are  to  abide  forever,  we 
may  then  look  around  us,  and  yet  of  all  the  cares  which  were 
sown  on  earth,  of  all  the  labors  which  we  took  under  the  sun, 
nothing  will  be  found,  that  only  excepted,  which  has  been  built 
up  in  the  temple  of  the  living  God.  He  who  has  added  one 
stone  to  that  temple  has  in  it  an  enduring  memorial.  He 
whose  prayers  are  among  the  mysterious  assemblage  of  causes, 
leading  to  the  fulfillment  of  the  divine  promises,  has  been  a 
worker  together  with  God,  and  it  shall  be  given  him  in  this  to 
rejoice  also  with  God.  But  he  who  has  done  little,  even 
though  his  soul  should  be  given  him  as  a  prey,  will  have  com- 


704  PRAYERS  AND  lEFlfORTS  OF  BEUEVERS. 

paratively  little  honour.  But  among  all  the  works  in  which  man 
is  able  to  engage,  and  which  go  to  the  establishment  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom,  there  is,  perhaps,  none  so  fruitful, 
because  none  so  humbling  to  the  creature  and  glorifying  to  the 
Creator ;  because  none  so  becoming,  on  the  part  of  a  redeemed 
soul,  as  prayer.  "Ask  of  me,  and  I  shall  give  thee  the  heathen 
for  thine  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for 
thy  possession." 


45— Vol.  X. 


Forbidding  to  Marry  a  Sure  Mark 
of  Antichrist. 


A  DISCOURSE 

BY    THE 

Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 


FORBIDDING  TO  MARRY  A  SURE  MARK 
OF  ANTICHRIST. 


1  Tim.  4:1,  2  and  3. 

Now  the  Spirit  speaketh  expressly  that  in  the  latter  times  same  shall 
depart  from  the  faith,  giving  heed  to  seducing  spirits,  and  doctrines  of 
devils  speaking  lies  in  hypocrisy  having  their  consciences  seared  with  a  hot 

iron FORBIDDING    TO    MARRY. 

One  great  design  of  the  Scriptures  was  to  reveal  future 
events  so  far  as  such  disclosures  were  promotive  of  God's 
glory ;  or  contributive  to  the  welfare  of  the  church  and  the 
strength  of  the  evidences  of  inspiration.  We  are  thus  admon- 
ished that  notwithstanding  the  full  knowledge  of  salvation  con- 
tained in  the  Bible  and  proclaimed  by  the  christian  teachers, 
there  should  arise  many  enemies  or  anti-Ghrists.  This  spirit  of 
anti-Ghrist  or  of  opposition  to  the  gospel  in  its  simplicity, purity 
and  divine  authority  whereof  we  have  heard  that  it  should 
come  ''even  now,"  says  the  Apostle  Jo^hn,  "is  it  in  the  world." 

To  this  subject  are  to  be  referred  the  words  of  our  text. 
The  Apostle  Paul,  writing  at  an  advanced  period  in  the  first 
century  after  the  establishment  of  the  christian  church  (A.  D. 
65  or  68)  here  fortells  what  should  come  to  pass  in  the  latter 
times.  And  in  so  doing  he  carefully  admonishes  us  that  what 
he  speaks  he  does  so  not  merely  in  confident  assurance  of  its 
truth — not  merely  upon  the  strength  of  his  own  inspiration — 
but  in  accordance  with  the  express  and  indubitable  testimony 
as  given  to  other  apostles  and  to  christians  also.  He  thus 
solemnly  predicts  that  "some"  even  among  those  who  profess 
to  be  churches  of  Christ  and  teachers  of  God's  will,  and 
believers  in  God's  word  "shall  depart  from  the  faith"  as  given 
by  inspiration  of  God,  in  all  those  Scriptures  which  He 
caused  to  be  written.  And  as  our  first  parents  were  led  astray 
from  God  by  the  artifices  of  the  devil  who  induced  them  to 
believe  that  his  declarations  were  to  be  received  as  true,  also 
is  it  foreshown  that  these  churches  while  professing  to  obey 
only  the  truth  should  nevertheless  "by  giving  heed  to  seducing 
spirits,"  admit  as  doctrines  that  be  of  God  "the  doctrines  of 
devils." 


710  A  SURE  MARK  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

Who,  you  will  inquire,  are  these  professedly  christian 
churches  or  individuals  wfeo  with  a  declared  belief  in  the  truth 
of  the  Bi'ble  have  yet  departed  from  the  faith,  given  heed  to 
seducing  spirits,  introduced  the  worship  of  the  spirits  of  dead 
men  under  the  character  of  saints,  and  spoken  lies  in 
hypocrisy?  This  also  the  apostle  here  makes  known  speci- 
fying some  of  those  doctrines  and  practices  by  which  to  the 
scrutinizing  eye  of  well  instructed  piety  the  wolf  may  be  at 
once  discovered  though  covered  with  the  skin  of  the  lamb. 
One  of  these  marks  and  the  only  one  to  which  we  shall  call 
special  attention  is — "forbidding  to  marry.'" 

Satan,  who  could  not  endure  to  look  upon  the  innocent 
happiness  and  delight  of  our  first  parents  in^  the  garden  of 
Eden  and  in  the  time  of  their  holiest  love,  has  ever  manifested 
an  especial  enmity  to  marriage.  Well  knowing  that  by  this 
means  the  number  of  God's  elect  should  be  filled  up,  and  that 
through  the  assistance  afliorded  by  this  endearing  union  the 
children  of  God  should  be  enabled  to  resist  his  wiles,  to 
escape  those  pollutions  that  are  in  the  world  through  lust — to 
strengthen  each  other  when  weak — this  great  adversary  has 
gone  about  seducing  men  into  the  belief  that  marriage  is  in 
itself  sinful  and  to  be  eschevved.  Full  well  he  knew  that  could 
he  succeed  in  establishing  this  opinion,  and  associate  with  the 
marriage  union  ideas  of  shame,  or  defilement,  no  matter  from 
whatever  variety  of  motives,  while  he  should  thus  deceive  the 
multitude  by  this  apparent  zeal  for  purity  he  should  provide  a 
veil  of  darkness  underneath  which  might  be  perpetrated  all 
manner  of  evil.  For  if  there  is  any  one  provision  whereby  a 
standard  may  be  lifted  up  against  the  violence  of  man's  cor- 
rupt propensities;  by  which  a  measure  of  Eden's  joy  may  be 
perpetuated  and  the  sorrows  of  life  sweetened ;  by  which  sym- 
pathy and  kindness,  parental  solicitude  and  filial  reverence 
may  be  promoted ;  by  which  all  deadly  passions  may  be  over- 
come ;  by  which  individual  and  social  elevation  and  refinement 
may  be  secured;  and  a  way  opened  for  the  entrance  of  the 
gospel ; — it  is  by  marriage. 

And  too  well  has  our  adversary  succeeded  in  this  wily  strata- 
gem ;  for  wherever  he  has  gained  possession  and  established 
his  dominion  there  do  we  find  marriage  in  its  original  form 


A  SURE  MARK  OF  ANTICHRIST.  711 

(as  constituting  the  unity  in  a  duality  of  one  human  pair) 
unknown;  and  there  do  we  see  all  that  is  polluted,  perpetrated. 

In  Christendom  also  has  he  too  well  succeeded.  Here  it  was 
necessary  for  him  to  appear  as  an  angel  of  light  and  while  his 
fitting  intsruments  spake  lies,  yet  were  the  many  gradually 
deluded  by  the  motives  of  sanctity.  How  must  these  seducing 
spirits  have  triumphed  in  their  fiendish  mocking,  when  they 
saw  Christendom  spotted  with  monasteries, — the  prisons  of 
their  victims^ — and  when  hordes  of  saintly  devotees  were  found 
roaming  like  savages  and  wild  heasts  the  desert  wastes ;  and 
when  society  despoiled  of  that  salt  wherewith  it  should  have 
been  salted,  lay  in  its  guilt  and  shame  corrupted  and  corrupting. 

Even  now  do  we  find  this  "doctrine  of  devils,"  which  wages 
war  against  the  sanctity  of  the  marriage  union — which  would 
profanely  elevate  to  a  superior  holiness  a  constrained,  and 
unnatural  virginity — ^and  impiously  assert  an  opposition 
between  the  duties  of  a  husband  and  a  minister — even  now  do 
we  find  this  doctrine,  in  one  form  or  other,  advocated  by  a 
varied  host,  who  are  united  only  in  this  that  they  have  all 
departed  from  the  faith.  It  is  the  universal  creed  and  doctrine 
of  all  fanatical  errorists.  It  is  the  doctrine  of  a  party  within 
the  bosom  of  the  Angelican  Church,  who  while  thus  departing 
from  the  faith,  are  claiming  for  themselves,  in  opposition  to 
their  more  evangelical  brethren,  the  title  and  privileges  of  the 
Catholic  Church.  And  it  is  the  established  creed  of  the  Rom- 
ish hierarchy,  which  clothes  virginity  with  a  robe  of  celestial 
purity  and  represents  it  as  meriting  a  glorious  recompense' — 
which  surrounds  marriage  with  an  atmosphere  of  carnality, 
and  covers  its  unworthy  followers  with  guilty  shame, — and 
w'hioh  altogether  prohibits  upon  pain  of  anathema  and  excom- 
munication any  of  its  minisiters  to  enter  into  this  heaven- 
appointed  relation.  The  council  of  Trent  (which  gave  form 
and  shape  to  the  present  corrupt  church  of  Rome)  decreed  that 
"if  any  say  that  the  clery  *  *  *  may  contract  marriage  *  *  * 
and  that  all  may  contract  marriage  who  do  not  find  that  they 
have  the  gift  of  chastity  let  him  be  accursed." 

Now  this  doctrine  we  hold,  with  the  apostle,  to  be  unreasons- 
able,  anti-christian  and  licentious.  To  those  who  maintain  it, 
beyond  the  visible  church,  we  may  oppose  reason  and  experi- 


712  A  sure;  mark  of  antichrist. 

ence;  while  to  those  who  are  professedly  within  the  visible 
church  and  yet  hold  this  "docrine  of  devils"  as  the  apostle  calls 
it,  we  may  oppose  not  onJy  reason  and  experience,  but  the 
express  authority  of  God. 

The  opinion,  then,  that  marriage  is  unlawful  and  to  be 
avoided  by  all  who  would  either  escape  from  bondage,  or  rise 
to  eminence  in  holiness,  is  unreasonaible,  in  itself,  and  in  its 
tendencies,  and  its  results  licentious  and  wicked.  The  mar- 
riage union  is  founded  in  reason.  Man  is  by  his  very  nature 
led  to  seek  in  such  a  partner  that  happiness  which  he  cannot 
realize  in  isolated  loneliness.  Man  turns  to  woman,  in  propor- 
tion as  the  nobler  faculties  of  'his  nature  triumph  over  his 
lower  and  debased  propensities,  as  the  sharer  of  his  sorrows, 
the  augmenter  of  his  pleasure,  the  les'sener  of  his  pain,  the 
partaker  of  'his  care  and  the  refiner  of  his  recreation,  his  nurse 
and  consoler  when  ill;  his  compeer  and  coadjutor  when  well; 
his  associate  and  'helpmeet  continually ;  the  companion,  the 
counsellor,  the  comfort  of  his  life.  Before  there  was  any  gov- 
ernment among  the  nations  by  which  men  could  be  artificially 
divided  into  families, — before  the  earliest  existing  records  of 
our  race  had  form  and  being — the  faithful  husband  enjoyed 
the  love  and  confidence  of  his  fond  partner, — wedded  love 
flourished  in  all  its  beauty, — spread  forth  its  branches  in  all 
their  luxuriance, — and  scattered  its  sweet  fragrance  all  around. 
And  when  we  turn  to  the  first  histories  of  primeval  generations, 
whether  we  look  to  the  poems  of  Homer  or  to  the  books  of 
Moses,  we  find  them  portraying  the  fond  attachment  of  Jacob 
and  Rachel,  of  Hector  and  Andromache. — a  love  which  could 
endure  no  rival,  which  was  strengthened  by  every  rude  storm 
that  only  infixed  its  roots  more  deeply, — which  triumphed  over 
death — and  still  lingered,  in  undying  ardor,  around  the  tomb  of 
the  departed.  And  in  whatever  land  you  follow  the  muse  to 
her  earliest  and  loftiest  strains,  will  she  not  be  heard  celebrat- 
ing the  virtues  of  wedded  love  as  the  only  remnant  and 
remembrancer  of  that  age  of  gold  when  men  were  angels  and 
held  converse  with  the  Gods? 

Indeed  it  were  easy  to  show  how  to  this  principle  society 
owes  its  being.  In  the  marriage  bond  we  have  the  first  union ; 
in  the  family  the  first  society ;  in  its  laws  the  first  government ; 


A  SURE  MARK  OF  ANTICHRIST.  713 

in  its  relations  the  first  inequalities  of  rank,  station,  influence, 
and  authority.  And  it  needed  hut  to  multiply  these  home- 
steads, with  all  their  concentric  and  attractive  influences,  and 
to  subordinate  them  all  to  one  patriarchal  head,  to  have  an 
organized  society. 

The  testimony  of  universal  man,  wherever  vice  has  not 
reduced  him  to  the  depths  of  bestiality,  is  in  favor  of  the  rea- 
sonableness of  this  institution.  It  will  be  found  among  the 
historical  reminiscences  of  every  tribe  and  people.  Nor  has 
nature  failed  to  bear  her  testimony  to  the  designed  universality 
of  this  bond.  Although  this  invariable  conformity  to  what  is 
the  law  of  nature,  existed  ages  before  the  proportion  of  the 
sexes  was  known,  it  has  now  been  fully  ascertained  that  there 
is  a  most  extraordinary  equality  between  the  number  of  male 
and  female  chiklren  allowing  indeed  a  small  excess  of  males, 
by  a  most  wise  and  merciful  providence,  since  men  are  more 
exposed  to  the  hazard  of  death.  Thus  does  the  God  of  nature 
stamp  with  reprobation  the  outrage  upon  His  wisdom  and 
goodness,  that  would  debase  or  destroy  this  principle  of  con- 
nubial union. 

And  while  it  has  been  alleged  that  marriage  leads  to  the 
degeneracy  of  the  species,  it  has  been  further  ascertained,  as 
an  indubitable  fact,  that  we  who  are  said  to  be  "emasculated 
by  artificial  marriage,"  are  greater  in  physical  powers.  In  like 
manner  has  it  been  made  apparent,  that  the  number  of  deaths 
has  decreased  as  civilization  'has  advanced  and  this  relation 
establisihed,  and  that  the  proportion  of  deaths  among  communi- 
ties that  are  civilized  varies  with  the  encouragement  or  the 
discouragement  of  marriage  and  the  consequent  morality  or 
immorality  which  prevails.  The  annual  mortality  in  the 
Roman  states  is  thus  as  1  to  28,  while  in  Britain  it  is  as  1 
to  58,  marriage-hating  Italy  having  thus  a  mortality  doubly 
as  great  as  marriage-loving  Britain  and  America. 

Thus  plainly  and  unequivocally  does  reason, — as  the  voice  of 
nature  and  of  nature's  God,  proclaim  the  wisdom  and  the  refin- 
ing and  humanizing  character  of  the  marriage  union.  Had  we 
time  and  were  it  timely  to  bring  before  you,  the  mass  of  evi- 
dence which  could  be  produced  in  demonstration  of  the  licen- 
tious wickedness  which  have  resulted  from  the  opposite  doc- 


714  A  SURE  MARK  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

trine,  w*hether  in  heatbenj  countries ;  in  civilized  Rome  where  it 
bred  corruption  and  decay ;  in  infidel  France  during  the  tri- 
umph of  these  anti-matrimonial  principles;  or  in  the  Papal 
hierarchy  ancient  and  modern' — there  is  not  a  heart  present, 
alive  to  any  sense  of  nature  and  of  delicacy,  that  would  not 
turn  from  such  doctrines,  under  whatever  mask  of  assumed 
purity  they  may  appear — with  loathing  and  disgust.  Could  we 
bring  before  you  so'me  of  the  wicked  indulgences  of  the  Popes 
— the  impious  principles  and  teaching  of  the  Jesuits — and  the 
licentious  practices  of  Popes,  Priests,  and  nuns,  under  the  celi- 
bate vow — and  the  awful  prevalence  of  vice  wherever  Roman- 
ism has  had  its  unrestrained  influence  well  might  you  conclude 
that  enforced  celibacy  is  a  sure  mark  of  the  anti-Christ.* 

Is  there  any  doubt  as  to  the  view  taken  of  this  subject  by  the 
holy  Scriptures  which  were  given  by  inspiration  of  God?  We 
will  briefly  present  some  evidence  and  leave  you  to  judge. 

In  opening  this  sacred  volume  we  find  that  God  so  created 
man  as  to  imply  the  necessity  of  the  marriage  union.  For 
whereas  an  entire  generation  might  have  been  brought  into 
existence  together,  Adam  was  first  made  and  that  alone,  Eve 
afterwards  from  a  portion  of  himself,  and  also  single.  The 
Lord  also  "brought  her  unto  the  man."  Therefore  shall  a  man 
leave  his  father  and  his  mother  and  shall  cleave  unto  his  wife 
and  they  shall  be  one  flesh.  Thus  was  man  first  constituted  as 
"the  man  and  the  wife"  (Gen.  2  :25)  a  type  and  pattern  for  all 
time.  Thus  was  marriage  originated,  and  miraculously  intro- 
duced by  God  Himself ; — solemnized  by  His  own  divine  pres- 
ence;— made  binding  by  His  solemn  precept; — hallowed  by  His 
gracious  blessing; — sanctified  by  His  'holy  approbation; — and 
enjoined,  in  perpetuity,  as  a  standing  law  upon  the  entire 
human  family.  Thus  was  marriage  instituted  and  entered 
upon  by  man,  while  as  yet  he  was  untainted  by  sin,  in  converse 
with  angels,  and  in  communion  with  God.  Thus  does  God  in 
the  very  first  page  of  Revelation,  and  in  the  very  first  act  in  the 
drama  of  life  erect  a  perpetual  testimony  against  the  blas- 
phemous impiety  of  those,  who  would  degrade  this  first  gift  of 
God  to  man.  "And  Adam  said  this  is  now  bone  of  my  bones 
and  flesh  of  my  flesh ;  she  shall  be  called  woman  because  she 

*See  White's  Catholocism,  pp.  132-138. 


A  SURE  MARK  OF  ANTICHRIST.  715 

was  taken  out  of  man  *  =!=  *  And  God  blessed  them  and  said 
unto  them,  Be  fruitful  and  multiply  and  replenish  the  earth 
*  *  *  And  they  were  not  ashamed." 

Neither  was  this  institution  altered.,  except  as  to  its  happi- 
ness, by  the  fall  of  its  first  exemplars.     On  the  contrary,  in  the 
whole  of  his  address  to  the  guilty  pair  God  expressly  recog- 
nizes the  permanence  and  continued  purity  of  this  union.     Bit- 
ter as  are  the  ingredients  in  their  cup  of  woe,  and  peculiarly 
severe  as  are  the  trials  imposed  upon  woman  who  was  first  in 
the  transgression,  yet  does  God  say  that  she  should  be  still  sub- 
ject to  her  husband,  and  her  husband  still  bound  to  her.     This 
continuance  of  the  original  institution  of  marriage  in  the  union 
of  one  man  and  one  woman  we  need  not  illustrate  from  the 
antediluvian,  patriarchal  or  Jewish  history,  or  as  it  is  exempli- 
fied in  the  Jewis'h  law.     We  would  however  remark,  that  under 
this  whole  dispensation,  God  so  far  from  excepting  the  mar- 
riage  of   the   clergy    from   this   expression  of   His   sanctified 
approval,  did  on  the  contrary  most  plainly  encourage  and  pro- 
vide for  it,  the  prophets,  priests  and  Levites  and  all  in  attend- 
ance upon  Him  being  married  persons.     Abraham,  Isaac  and 
Jacob,  Moses,  Aaron,  Isaiah,  David,  and  the  priests  generally 
were  married.     And  whereas,  Papists  allege  that  during  their 
courses    of   ministry    the   priests    were   separated    from   their 
homes,  this  is  a  mere  assertion  without  any  proof;  and  if  true, 
were  of   no   importance   since   this   arrangement   of   courses, 
made  as  late  as  the  time  of  David,  was  of  a  very  short  duration, 
a   week,— in  the  year, — and   since  previous   to  that   time  no 
restriction  was  enforced. 

And,  now,  if  we  turn  to  the  New  Testament  dispensation, 
we  shall  find  that  as  the  glory  of  this  excelleth  the  former  as 
much  as  the  light  of  the  sun  does  that  of  the  moon,  so  does  the 
manifestation  of  divine  favor  to  marriage  as  an  institution 
all-miportant  to  God's  plan  of  mercy  and  to  the  establishment  of 
Christianity  throughout  the  earth,  shine  forth  illustrious  from 
every  page.  As  in  the  first  creation  God  miraculously  formed 
woman  and  thus  made  marriage  possible,  so  in  this  sacred  and 
greater  creation  Christ  performed  His  first  miracle,  to  give 
greater  honor  to  a  marriage  celebration.  This  divine  Legisla- 
tor restored  it  to  its  original  platform— cancelled  all  the  unjust 


716  A  SURE  MARK  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

restrictions  of  the  fathers — and  for  ever  anathematized  any 
assumed  dispensing  power  by  priests  or  popes,  as  to  its  immu- 
table and  holy  bonds.  But  further,  and  most  surely  to  put  to 
silence  the  "lies  spoken  in  hypocrisy"  of  anti-christian  men, 
Christ  selected  His  twelve  favored  companions,  some  of  them 
certainly,  from  among  married  men. 

Whereas  the  Papal  Kirk  would  build  itself  on  Peter  to  the 
rejection  of  the  tried  corner  stone,  Christ  had  so  ordered  it 
that  Peter  should  be  a  married  man  (1  Cor.  9  :5)  ;  and  whereas 
Paul  also  had  much  to  do  with  the  first  organization  of  the 
Roman  (not  the  Papal  church  which  was  not  in  being  for  some 
hundreds  of  years  afterwards)  Paul  also  expressly  claims  the 
right  ''to  lead  about  a  sister — a  wife — as  well  as  other  apostles 
and  as  the  brethren  (or  other  ministers)  of  the  Lord  and  as 
Cephas  or  Peter."  Nor  will  any  reasonable  soul  be  beguiled 
by  the  papal  plea  that  this  wife  was  not  a  lawfully  married 
wife,  and  that  Peter  only  set  a  pattern  which  his  successions 
have  never  refused  to  follow,  namely,  of  leading  or  having 
about  with  them  a  sister  even  though  not  a  married  wife. 

When  the  Holy  Ghost  comes  to  give  directions  to  the  church 
as  to  the  qualifications  of  ministers  in  all  ages  one  of  them  is, 
"if  any  be  blameless,  the  husband  of  one  wife,  having  faithful 
children"  (Tit.  1:6).  Again,  "A  Bishop"  or  presbyter,  for 
according  to  Scripture  these  officers  are  the  same,  "must  be 
blameless,  the  husband  of  one  wife — ^one  that  ruleth  well  his 
own  house  having  his  children  (that  are  in  his  house)  in  sub- 
jection with  all  gravity,  for  if  a  man  know  not  how  to  rule  his 
own  house  (as  of  course  they  know  not  who  are  not  allowed, 
however  anxious,  to  have  any  house  to  rule  over)  how  shall  he 
take  care  of  the  Church  of  God?"  And  surely  all  history  will 
reply  that  they  have  taken  no  care  of  it  at  all.  "Even  so," 
continues  the  Holy  Spirit  by  the  mouth  of  Saul,  "must  their 
wives  be  grave,  &c.,"  and  "Let  the  deacons"  too  "be  husbands 
of  one  wife,  ruling  their  children  and  their  own  houses  well."* 

And  lest  it  should  be  imagined  that  any  were  excluded  by 
precept  from  entering  into  this  relation,  however  many  may  be 
by  their  own  choice,  or  'by  the  necessity  of  providential  hind- 
rances, and  lest  any  impurity  should  be  thought  to  attach  itself 

*2  Tim.  3 :  2-5  and  12. 


A  SURE  MARK  OF  ANTICHRIST.  717 

to  the  marriage  state,  the  Apostle  Paul  explicitly  teaches  that 
"marriage  is  honourable  in  all, — and  the  bed  undefiled,"  except 
by  any  violation  of  matrimonial  fidelity.  (Heb.  13.)  Nay,  to 
sanctify  still  more  this  institution,  it  has  been  held  forth  as  a 
most  special  similitude  of  Christ  and  His  Church,  in  various 
places  and  with  great  solemnity  (c.  g.,  Eph.  5)  ;  nor  would  our 
divine  Redeemer  be  conceived  or  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary 
until  she  was  espoused  in  marriage.  He  thus  pronounced  it  to 
be  His  own  ordinance,  and  covered  it  with  the  robe  of  celestial 
sacredness. 

Neither  is  this  all,  for  marriage  is  not  O'uly  thus  privileged 
to  all  men  and  to  ministers  especially,  it  is  moreover  to  a  great 
proportion  of  the  human  race  as  certainly  commanded.  For 
the  Apostle  Paul,  when  in  view  of  persecutions  and  necessary 
flights,  advised  all  who  could  abstain  not  to  marry,  yet  does  he 
as  positively  enjoin  it  as  an  universal  rule,  that  in  all  cases 
where  individuals  found  that  they  are  not  endowed  with  the 
gift  of  continency,  and  cannot  purely  and  freely  continue  in 
their  present  state  without  mental  strife  "let  every"  such  "man 
have  his  own  wife,  and  let  every"  such  "woman  have  her  own 
husband."  "I  say,  therefore,  unto  the  unmarried  and  widows 
*  *  *  if  they  cannot  contain  let  them  marry  for  it  is  better," 
that  is,  it  is  better  even  for  such  as  have  purposed  or  vowed 
to  live  a  single  life,  "to  marry  than  to  burn."  And  yet  amid 
all  the  dispensations  of  the  Court  of  Rome  for  all  manner  of 
crimes,  there  is  no  mercy  found,  in  this  proper  and  lawful 
way,  for  the  innumerable  priests,  monks,  and  nuns,  who  as 
many  of  them  have  confessed,  have  been  and  are,  destroyed 
by  the  very  constraint  in  which  they  are  unfitly  bound. 

When  to  all  that  has  been  adduced,  we  add  the  unsparing 
severity  with  which  the  Scriptures  everywhere  condemn 
those  practices  which  must  inevitably  follow  upon  the  repudia- 
tion of  marriage ;  and  how  its  most  withering  curse  is  uttered 
against  those  individuals  or  churches  which  tolerated  such 
iniquities,  how  can  we  hesitate  in  pronouncing  the  creed  which 
forbiddeth  to  marry  as  the  doctrine  of  devils?  If  it  is  in 
violent  opposition  to  the  laws  of  nature  and  to  the  reason  of  the 
case, — if  it  is  most  contrary  to  the  inspired  word  of  God  as 


718  A  SURE  MARK  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

found  both  imthe  Old  and  New  Testaments, — if  it  defames  and 
brutalizes  that  which  God  pronounces  "honourable  in  all" — 
if  it  expressly  forbids,  on  peril  of  sin  and  guilt,  on  pain  of 
anathema,  what  God  explicitly  commands — if  it  thus  forbids 
marriage  that  hereby  it  may  merit  the  kingdom  of  heaven* — 
if  this  doctrine  was  cruelly  introduced  and  made  universally 
binding  by  the  Court  of  Rome  in  order  to  enslave  the  clergy 
and  to  league  them  in  one  huge  confederation,  unconnected 
with  the  laity,  having  no  interest  in  society,  and  with  every 
honourable  love  of  home,  family,  kindred  and  country  seared  as 
with  a  hot  iron, — that  thus  they  might  go  abroad  as  an  army  of 
masters  to  extort  tribute  from  millions  of  enslaved  subjects, 
and  finally  to  attract  into  the  coffers  of  the  Papal  Kirk  what- 
ever property  individual  priests  or  nuns  may  acquire — if  all 
this  is  so,  then  is  it  by  proof  strong  as  of  holy  writ  demon- 
strated to  be  "a  doctrine  of  devils ;"  and  the  Romish  church  to 
be  that  anti-Christ  who  was  to  come,  "the  man  of  sin  who 
opposeth  and  exalteth  himself  above  all  that  is  called  God  or 
that  is  worshipped ;  so  that  he  as  God  sitteth  in  the  temple  of 
God  showing  himself  that  he  is  God." 

Time  will  not  permit  us  to  expose  the  weakness  and  absurd- 
ity of  those  pretexts  on  which  this  doctrine  is  based.  This  has 
been  often  done  and  may  be  easily  done  again  for  these  pre- 
texts are  few  and  of  feeble  strength.  Indeed,  these  were 
necessary  to  establish  our  conclusions  nothing  farther  than  a 
reference  to  the  letters  of  Doctor  Taylor,  one  of  those  emi- 
nently holy  and  learned  men  who  was  martyred  in  the  reign  of 
that  Mary  who  was  made  bloody  by  the  persecuting  and  relent- 
less creed  to  which  she  was  enslaved.  Wheni  Doctor  Taylor 
was  brought  before  his  Romish  inquisitors  he  was  charged 
with  being  a  wretch  because  he  had  been  married  many  years. 
"To  which,"  says  he,  "I  answered,  I  am  married  indeed  and  I 
have  had  nine  children  in  holy  matrimony,  I  thank  God.  And 
this  I  am  sure  of,  that  your  proceedings  now  at  this  present  in 
this  realm  against  priest's  marriages  is  the  maintenance  of  the 
doctrine  of  devils,  against  natural  law,  against  civil  law,  canon 
law,  general  councils,  canons  of  the  apostles,  ancient  doctors 

*See  proof  in  the  Southmark  Lectures,  vol.  2,  p.  155. 


A  SURE  MARK  OF  ANTICHRIST.  719 

and  God's  law."*  For  his  opposition  to  this  custom,  the  devoted 
minister,  Hke  our  Lord,  was  accused,  degraded  from  his 
office,  torn  him  from  his  wife  and  children, f — prevented  at  the 
place  of  execution  from  speaking  to  the  people  by  having  a 
tip-staff  thrust  into  his  mouth,  placed  in  a  pitch  barrel,  bound 
with  chains  to  the  stake.  A  fagot  was  cast  at  him,  even  after 
they  bad  kindled  the  fire,  and  when  he  still  repeated  in  English 
the  miserere  he  was  struck  on  the  lips  and  told  to  speak  in 
Latin.  Like  so  many  fiends,  led  on  by  their  Satanic  masters, 
these  torturers  exulted  in  his  expiring  agonies.  Oh,  who  can 
dioubt  this  is  indeed  the  doctrine  of  devils? 

But  why,  do  you  ask,  discuss  this  subject  at  this  time? 
Why?  Because  anti-Christ  is  now  waxing  strong  among  us, 
and  is  already  boasting  that  by  our  silence,  and  the  treacherous 
infidelity  of  some  called  protestanits  he  has  succeeded  in  gather- 
ing in  his  evil  net  many  of  our  sons  and  daughters.  Because 
many  say  and  believe  that  Popery  now  is  not  what  it  ever  has 
been  and  what  by  its  own  showing  it  ever  must  be,  unchange- 
able in  its  corrupt,  unscriptural  and  persecuting  principles,  and 
we  would  therefore  show  you  that  it  is  thus  manifestly  identi- 
fied with  the  anti-Christ  of  Scripture.  Why?  Because  the 
duty  of  thus  forewarning  you  of  your  danger  and  of  the  real 
nature  of  this  system  has  been  imposed  upon  us  by  the  voice  of 
and  highest  ecclesiastical  judicatory.  Because  we  have  been 
led  to  this  subject  by  an  inward  impulse  which  we  dare  not 
resist.  Why  ?  Because  every  man  had  his  parents  and  we  are 
bound  to  cherish  a  reverence  for  them.  Nor  were  we  at  first 
led  to  it  with  any  view  directly  to  controvert  the  Papal  doctrine. 
We  were  rather  desirous  to  lead  your  minds  to  proper  views  of 
the  holy  estate  of  matrimony.  There  is,  as  the  indirect  result 
of  this  doctrine  of  devils,  a  shrinking  and  effeminate  shame  as 
it  regards  the  subject  of  marriage,  which  argues  that  it  is  inhe- 
rently wrong  or  really  that  necessary  evil  which  this  doctrine 
of  devils  represents  it  to  be — and  by  which  these  seducing 
spirits  are  enabled  successfully  to  apply  their  delusive  ensnare- 

*At  the  coming  of  the  gates  his  servant  lifted  up  his  son,  Thomas,  to 
him  and  sat  him  on  the  horse.  Dr.  Taylor  put  off  his  hat  and  said  to  the 
people :  "Good  people,  this  is  mine  own  son,  begotten  in  lawful  matrimony ; 
and  God  be  blessed  for  lawful  matrimony."  Then  lifted  he  up  his  eyes  and 
prayed  for  his  son.  laid  his  hand  upon  his  head  and  blessed  him. 

tLetters  of  the  Martyrs,  p.  131. 


730  A  SURE  MARK  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

merits.  This  unreasonable,  unscriptural  jealousy  we  would 
with  all  our  might  resist.  It  is  unbecoming  in  us  as  men,  it  is 
apostasy  in  us  as  protestants,  it  is  positively  sinful  in  us  as 
christians.  Let  us  then  be  led  to  think  more  honourably,  more 
purely,  more  christianly,  of  marriage.  Let  us  regard  it,  as  it 
is,  where  properly  entered  upon,  as  God's  own  institution,  and 
therefore  holy, — as  dignified  'by  Christ  and  therefore  doubly 
sacred, — as  apostolically  enjoined  and  therefore  "honourable 
in  all," — as  in  its  uses  spotlessly  pure  and  only  in  its  abuses  to 
be  deprecated, — and  as  one  chief  means  by  which  God  counter- 
acts evil,  furthers  good,  benefits  society,  and  the  world  at  large, 
and  prepares  for  their  heavenly  blessedness  the  heirs  of  glory. 
"Art  thou  bound  unto  a  wife?  Seek  not  to  be  loosed. 
Art  thou,"  by  choice,  by  the  necessity  of  circumstances, 
or  the  providence  of  God  "loosed  from  a  wife?  seek  not  a  wife. 
But,  and  if  thou  marry  thou  hast  not  sinmed,  and  if  a  virgin 
marry  she  hath  not  sinned.  But  this  I  say,  brethren,  that  the 
time  is  short !  it  remaineth,  that  both  they  that  have  wives  be 
as  though  they  had  none ;  and  they  that  weep,  as  though  they 
wept  not ;  and  they  that  rejoice,  as  though  they  rejoice  not ;  and 
they  that  buy,  as  though  they  possessed  not ;  and  they  that  use 
this  world  as  not  abusing  it :  for  the  fashion  of  this  world 
passeth  away."* 


*1  Cor.  27-31. 


46— Vol.  X. 


The  Resurrection  of  Christ. 


A  SERMON 

BY  THE 

Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D., 
Charleston,  S.  C, 


August  8,  1836. 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST. 


Luke  24:41 

And  while  they  yet  believed  not  but  wondered,  He  said  to  them :  Have 
ye  here  any  food? 

The  resurrection  of  Christ  is  the  center  stone  of  that  arch 
by  which  Christianity  affords  a  passage  to  the  realms  of  bliss 
over  the  yawning  gulf  of  eternal  death.  No  part  of  the  Gospel 
history  has  been  more  violently  assailed  than  this,  and  wisely' 
on  the  part  of  its  adversaries, — for  if  this  doctrine  can  be  over- 
thrown it  brings  confusion  and  disgrace  upon  the  whole  chris- 
tian scheme. 

We  will  consider  as  well  as  in  our  limits  we  can  the  cer- 
tainty and  the  importance  of  this  great  doctrine.  The  Resur- 
rection of  Christ  was  not  impossible  to  God  since  it  implies  no 
contradiction ;  and  was  not,  therefore,  beyond  His  power — nor 
is  it  to  be  thought  at  all  unworthy  of  heaven  since  it  led  to  the 
accomplishment  of  the  most  blessed  consequences.  What,  then, 
is  the  evidence  of  the  fact?  Testimony  drawn  from  prophecy, 
from  history,  from  heaven  and  from  earth. 

The  resurrection  is  attested  by  prophecy.  By  this  it  appears 
the  Messiah  was  to  rise.  This  truth  was  foreshown  in  types, 
in  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac,  in  the  sheaf  of  the  first  fruits.  It 
was  foretold  by  prophets.  As  Jonah  was  three  days  and  three 
nights  in  the  whale's  belly  so  was  the  Son  of  Man  to  be  three 
days  and  three  nights  in  the  heart  of  the  earth.  Similar  is  the 
vision  of  Zechariah.  Isaiah,  who  in  reference  to  Christ  is 
always  more  bold,  saith :  "Thy  dead  men  shall  live,  together 
with  my  dead  body  shall  they  live.  Awake  and  sing  ye  that 
dwell  in  the  dust  for  thy  dew  is  as  the  dew  of  herbs  and  the 
earth  shall  cast  out  the  dead."  And  elsewhere,  that  Christ 
should  see  of  the  travail  of  His  soul  and  be  satisfied,  shall 
we  quote  the  famous  language  of  David :  "Thou  wilt  not  leave 
my  soul  in  Hell ;  neither  wilt  thou  suffer  thy  holy  one  to  see 
corruption,  thou  wilt  show  me  the  path  of  life,"  language  which 
the  Apostle  Peter  assures  us  was  spoken  of  the  resurrection  of 
Christ.  It  was  also  predicted  by  Christ  Himself.  When 
pressed  by  the  Jews  to  give  them  a  sign  He  would  give  no 


t!26  THE  RESURRECTION  OE  CHRIST, 

Other  than  that  of  the  Prophet  Jonas.  "Destroy,"  says  he, 
"this  temple,"  meaning  His  body,  "and  in  three  days  I  will  raise 
it  up.  Tell  the  vision,"  says  he  to  His  disciples,  "to  no  man  till 
the  Son  of  Man  be  risen  from  the  dead."  How  truly,  then, 
may  the  apostle  say:  "If  Christ  be  not  risen  again,  then  is  our 
preaching  vain  and  vain  also  is  your  faith." 

What,  then,  is  the  historical  evidence  of  this  event?  Does  it 
depend  upon  the  testimony  of  a  single  man?  One  who  at  the 
time  of  His  resurrection  and  long  after  was  one  of  His  bitter- 
est enemies,  says,  "He  was  seen  of  Cephas,  then  of  the  twelve, 
later  of  above  500  brethren  at  once."  These  witnesses  were 
well  acquainted  with  Christ ;  they  were  eye  or  ear  witnesses  of 
what  they  testify;  they  were  at  first  inclined  to  disbelieve  in 
the  whole  matter — and  yet  they  afterwards  proclaimed  this 
truth  openly,  although  it  entailed  upon  them  bitter  persecution, 
and  even  death.  And  what  was  the  character  of  these  wit- 
nesses? They  constantly  taught  the  most  perfect  morality 
and  righteousness,  their  own  conduct  exemplified  their  doc- 
trines. They  had  no  opportunity  to  plot  a  scheme  of  decep- 
tion, they  had  no  power  to  carry  it  on,  they  had  no  conceivable 
motive  of  making  the  attempt.  The  story  is  one  of  great 
improbability  in  itself ;  and  yet  a  belief  in  its  truth  was  main- 
tained, and  diffused  throughout  the  whole  world. 

We  can  appeal  for  further  testimony  to  heaven.  For  the 
two  angels  who  rolled  away  the  stone  of  His  sepulchre  told 
those  who  came  that  Christ  was  not  there,  but  was  risen.  We 
can  appeal  to  the  grave  itself :  "For  many  bodies  of  the  saints 
who  slept,  arose  and  went  into  the  holy  city  and  appeared  unto 
many!"  We  appeal  to  His  disciples.  (Look  at  the  unbelieving 
Thomas,  doubtful  until  he  touched  Christ's  pierced  hands  and 
wounded  side.  From  that  moment  he  and  all  of  them,  weak 
and  timorous  as  they  had  been  before,  went  forward  even  to 
the  death  bearing  this  testimony  to  Jesus.)  We  can  appeal  to 
Christ.  Can  a  man  work  miracles  in  the  grave  or  a  dead  man 
fulfil  his  promises?  And  did  not  Christ  meet  the  whole  assem- 
bled church  at  the  appointed  time  and  place  and  fill  them  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  enable  them  to  speak  in  every  different 
tongue  and  work  miracles?  And  how  frequently  also  did  He 
appear  to  those  who  had  previously  known  Him,  to   Mary 


THS  RESURRECTION  OE  CHRIST.  727 

Magdalene,  to  Peter,  to  James,  to  the  11,  to  500,  to  Stei-hen,  to 
Paul! 

We  can  also  appeal  to  God  Himself.  For  God  bore  witness 
to  them  that  preached  this  truth,  both  with  signs  and  wonders, 
and  with  divers  miracles  and  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  according 
to  His  own  will. 

Whether,  then,  we  look  to  heaven  and  see  the  angels — or  to 
earth  and  behold  the  great  earthquake — to  the  disciples — to 
Christ — to  God  Himself — we  are  alike  assured  that  Christ  is 
He  who  liveth  and  was  dead,  and  behold.  He  is  alive  for  ever- 
more. And  thus,  as  by  prophecy  we  were  assured  Christ 
would  rise,  by  history  we  are  made  certain  that  Christ  did  rise. 
"If,  therefore,"  says  Bishop  Home,  "the  patriarchs,  the  law 
and  the  prophets ;  if  heaven  and  earth ;  if  angels  from  above 
and  the  dead  beneath;  if  the  appearance  of  Christ  Himself  on 
earth  and  from  heaven ;  if  the  Spirit  of  Truth  with  all  His 
gifts  and  graces;  if  the  conversion  of  the  world  to  the  faith  of 
the  crucified  Saviour;  if  the  Christ  with  the  antiquity  and 
universality,  of  her  institutions  and  services  for  above  17  cen- 
turies— that  is  to  say,  if  all  the  evidence  God  can  give  or  man 
receive  be  sufficient  to  prove  a  fact — then  may  we  evermore 
rejoice — that  the  Lord  is  risen  indeed."  That  Christ  rose  from 
the  dead  was  a  truth  believed  before  it  was  received  by  the 
apostles,  and  of  which  we  have  still  that  evidence  preserved  to 
us  which  through  every  age  as  well  as  at  the  time  itself  has 
satisfied  the  minds  of  millions. 

When  we  remember  that  this  doctrine  being  certified  the 
whole  Bible  is  at  once  and  necessarily  established  and  the 
whole  system  cemented  together,  how  shall  we  proceed  to  the 
consideration  of  its  importance?  The  contemplation  of  a 
single  object  oftentimes  makes  a  more  powerful  impression 
than  when  the  mind  is  overpowered  by  a  multitude.  And  yet 
that  our  conceptions  may  not  be  limited,  it  is  sometimes  well 
to  look  upon  the  whole  field  of  observation.  Although,  there- 
fore, the  particular  consideration  of  some  one  of  the  resulting 
benefits  of  the  resurrection  might  more  deeply  affect  our  minds 
let  us  throw  ourselves  upon  that  constellated  host  of  glories 
which  radiate  from  this  central  orb  that  although  lost  in  their 


728  THE  RESURRECTION  OE  CHRIST, 

contemplation  our  hearts  may  be  filled  with  reverence  and 
becoming  thankfulness. 

Miracles,  says  Augustine,  are  for  intelligent  beings,  the  lan- 
guage of  God,  and  of  all  miracles  the  greatest  is,  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead.  But  of  all  resurrections  is  it  not  much  the 
greatest  to  give  oneself  life  and  to  raise  oneself  by  one's  own 
power?  It  was  not,  therefore,  without  reason  that  Jesus 
Christ  insisted  particularly  on  this  sign  to  make  it  appear  that 
He  was  God  and  the  Son  of  God.  This  doctrine  is,  therefore, 
of  the  very  highest  importance.  It  is  a  corroboration  of  the 
truth  of  all  God's  revelation,  in  which  this  event  was  fore- 
shown, and  its  necessity  declared.  It  was  necessary  to  the  ful- 
filment of  the  purposes  of  Christ's  death.  Since  Christ  as  our 
ransom  has  arisen  we  have  redemption  through  His  blood.  He 
was  crucified  for  our  offenses  and  raised  again  for  our  justifi- 
cation. By  thus  rising,  through  the  efficacy  of  His  death,  He 
is  able  to  justify  us  in  the  sight  of  God.  It  was  essential  as  a 
confirmation  of  the  faith  of  christians.  The  faith  of  His  dis- 
ciples was  staggered,  and  the  hopes  of  men  abashed,  but  in 
His  resurrection  He  was  proclaimed  the  Son  of  God  with 
power.  All  doubt  is  now  forever  silenced.  And  we  may 
boldly  assert  that  nothing  was  ever  affirmed  by  Christ  but  what 
was  true ;  nothing  foretold  but  what  hath  or  shall  be  fulfilled ; 
nothing  commanded  but  what  is  just  and  good;  nothing  threat- 
ened but  what  shall  be  executed  upon  impenitent  and  unbeliev- 
ing sinners ;  nothing  promised  but  what  shall  be  certainly  per- 
formed to  all  that  repent  and  believe  the  gospel.  Away,  there- 
fore, with  all  doubts. 

It  was  especially  necessary  to  establish  the  divinity  of  Christ, 
of  which  the  resurrection  is  an  incontestible  proof;  therefore 
it  was  the  whole  Sanhedrim  used  every  efifort  to  disprove  this 
fact.  And  the  hatred  of  the  Pharisees  and  the  incredulity  of 
the  apostles  which  secured  certain  obstacles  to  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  this  great  truth  were  the  very  means  by  which  it  was 
most  firmly  established  that  He  was  Lord  of  all.  It  also 
assures  us  that  as  our  Saviour  Christ  is  able  to  do  all  in  us  and 
for  us  which  He  engages  to  do.  "Who,"  says  the  apostle, 
"shall  lay  anything  to  the  charge  of  God's  elect?  Who  is  he 
that  condemneth?     It  is  Christ  that  died,  yea,  rather  that  is 


the;  RESURRE^CTION   of  CHRIST.  729 

risen  again."  Christ,  by  His  resurrection,  dissolved  the 
tyranny  of  death  and  with  Himself  raised  up  the  whole  world. 
"God,"  says  St.  Paul,  "hath  quickened  us  together  with  Christ, 
and  raised  us  together  with  Him." 

The  resurrection  of  Christ  is  thus  a  demonstration  of  the 
immortality  of  the  soul  which  it  brings  to  life  and  light,  to 
palpable  certainty ; — of  eternal  life,  which  is  treasured  up  in 
Him  as  our  Head  and  Surety ; — of  the  resurrection  of  the  body, 
for  He  was  the  first-born  from  the  dead — the  first  fruits  of 
them  who  sleep — our  forerunner — and  the  captain  of  life. 
God  who  raised  the  Lord  shall  also  raise  us  by  His  power,  for 
if  we  have  been  planted  with  Christ,  in  the  likeness  of  His 
death,  we  shall  also  grow  up  in  the  likeness  of  His  resurrection, 
for  He  is  God  both  of  the  dead  and  the  living.  The  resurrec- 
tion is  also  a  demonstration  of  the  certainty  of  a  future  judg- 
ment. God  hath  appointed  Him  a  day  wherein  He  will  judge 
the  world  in  righteousness  by  that  Man  whom  He  hath 
ordained  whereof  He  hath  given  assurance  unto  all  men  in  that 
He  raised  Him  from  the  dead.  All  power  is  now  given  Him 
in  heaven  and  on  earth  that  He  might  exercise  supreme  author- 
ity over  all.  For  as  He  died  so  He  was  also  resurrected  that 
we  should  not  henceforth  live  unto  ourselves  but  unto  Him. 


The 

Mutual  Obligation  of  a  Minister 

and  His  People. 


Delivered  First  in  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church, 

Charleston,  S.  C,  on  Assuming  the  Pastoral 

Charge   of   that   Congregation. 


BY 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 


1834 


THE  MUTUAL  OBLIGATION  OF  A   MIN- 
ISTER AND  HIS  PEOPLE. 


Heb.  13 :  17. 
Obey  them  that  have  the  rule  over  you  and  submit  yourselves. 

This  command  is  addressed  by  the  apostle  to  those  christian 
churches  or  communities  for  whom  the  epistle  was  designed.* 
It  is  not,  therefore,  the  language  of  a  pastor  to  his  people,  but 
of  God  Himself  to  all  christian  churches,  through  His  inspired 
Servant.  And  since  we  have  now  to  become  united,  as  a  min- 
ister and  his  flock,  the  consideration  of  our  reciprocal  obliga- 
tions as  here  inculcated  will  profitably  occupy  our  attention. 

Two  questions  of  importance  present  themselves  in  deter- 
mining the  import  of  this  solemn  command  of  heaven : 

1.  What  is  implied  in  the  terms,  "have  the  rule  over  you?" 
and  2.  What  is  involved  in  that  obedience  and  submission 
which  is  to  be  rendered  to  such  rulers  ? 

Let  us  attend  to  the  meaning  of  this  important  phraseology, 
the  real  import  of  which  carries  with  it  such  momentous 
responsibility. 

The  words  rendered,  obey  and  submit,  are  of  nearly  equiva- 
lent force,  their  repetition  being  designed  to  strengthen  the 
impression  and  enforce  more  strongly  the  requirement.  The 
plain  meaning  of  the  words  leads  us  necessarily  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  obedience  here  demanded  is  not  absolute  or  pas- 
sive obedience.  It  is  not  the  result  of  arbitrary  command,  but 
that  which  flows  from  the  heart  as  the  effect  of  moral  suasion. 
It  is  a  voluntary  and  intelligent  obedience  founded  upon  con- 
viction, produced  by  argument  and  sustained  by  exhortation. 
It  is  the  obedience  of  a  disciple  to  his  teacher — the  submission 
to  those  duties  the  importance  and  necessity  of  which  the  word 
has  been  made  certain.  "Obey  them  that  have  the  rule  over 
you ;"  that  is,  yield  to  their  admonitions,  follow  their  precepts, 
"and  submit  yourselves;"  that  is,  do  this  diligently,  promptly, 

*See  V.  24. 


734  A  MINISTER  AND  HIS  PEOPIvE. 

earnestly  and  without  delay.     Obey  their  precepts,  embrace 
their  doctrines,  and  follow  their  example.* 

The  literal  meaning  of  the  words,  translated,  "have  the  rule 
over  you,"  is,  "who  lead  the  way,  who  precede,  who  are  set 
over  and  appointed  to  oversee,  who  guide,  direct  and  instruct, 
to  whom  is  delegated  by  God  the  power  of  regulating  His 
church,  and  with  whom  rests  the  final  earthly  decision  of  the. 
interests  of  His  kingdom,"  There  is  unquestionably  implied 
in  this  term,  "rule,"  authority  and  power,  but  it  is  a  power 
derived  from  the  gospel,  and  limited  by  the  gospel.  It  is, 
therefore,  subordinate  to  the  authority  of  Christ  and  is  in  no 
degree  binding  except  as  it  is  sanctioned  by  the  word  of  His 
testimony.  There  is  no  power  in  man  to  alter  or  amend  the 
constituted  laws  of  heaven,  to  bind  upon  the  conscience  any 
burden  God  has  not  bound,  or  to  enforce  any  requirement  as 
an  admission  to  the  church  and  privileges  of  Christ  not 
expressly  revealed  by  the  Saviour  Himself.  There  is  no  legis- 
lative authority  in  the  ministry  of  the  Lord  Jesus  to  alter  or 
amend,  to  increase  or  diminish,  the  terms  of  His  discipleship 
and  the  rules  of  His  discipline  and  government.  The  Bible 
is  the  final — unalterable — and  perfect  standard  of  right  and 
wrong,  of  duty  and  obedience,  and  beyond  it  there  can  be  no 
dictation,  no  arbitrary  or  despotic  determination  of  the  mind 
or  will  of  God. 

According  to  the  rules  of  the  gospel  ministers  are  empow- 
ered to  govern.  In  union  with  others  appointed  they  are 
entrusted  with  the  executive  authority  of  the  church  on  earth — 
and  all  appointments  made  by  them,  all  regulations  enforced 
by  them,  and  all  duties  inculcated  by  them,  in  accordance  with 
Christ's  will  and  word,  and  with  the  best  interests  of  the 
people,  are  of  certain  obligation  and  are  violated  at  the  fearful 
risk  of  the  oflfender.f  Their  word  is,  however,  their  only 
weapon,  their  force  of  argument  all  the  constraint  they  apply, 
and  discipline  all  the  penalty  they  enforce. $    But  if  these  are 

♦See  on  the  meaning  of  the  words  ireCOeade  and  vireiKeTe  Schlinsney 
Lex.,  Bretschneider,  Leigh's  Crit.  Sacr.,  Scapula  Gr.  Lex.,  Parkhurst  Gr. 
Lex.  and  Bloomfield. 

tQuote  Pierce,  pp.  89  and  95. 

tSee  Banow  in  loco. 


A  MINISTER  AND  HIS  PEOPLE;.  735 

according  to  the  law  of  the  testimony  of  heaven,  then  what- 
soever obey  Him  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven.J 

For  they  watch  for  your  souls,  sedulously,  sleeplessly, 
cautiously,  and  attentively  following  you  in  your  wanderings 
as  the  shepherd  tends  his  flock.  As,  therefore,  the  object  of 
their  whole  lives  and  the  great  end  of  their  office  is  the  salva- 
tion of  the  soul,  all  power  and  authority  entrusted  to  them  must 
be  that  which  is  connected  with  the  soul,  and  consequently  not 
physical  or  bodily,  but  moral. 

This  obedience  is  enforced  by  the  consideration  that  those 
who  watch  over  you  are  responsible  for  the  discharge  of  obli- 
gations which  depend  eventually  on  your  co-operation,  and 
which  are  as  much  connected  with  your  interests  as  theirs. 

By  ''ruIvERs/'  therefore,  in  this  passage  are  meant  the  min- 
isters of  Christ  and  those  associated  with  them,  and  who,  in 
accordance  with  the  will  of  Christ,  are  officially  and  voluntarily 
appointed  over  a  particular  church ;  by  "ruling"  is  meant  that 
responsibility,  authority,  and  power  delegated  to  them  by 
Christ  and  by  His  people  in  the  name  of  Christ; — and  by 
"obedience"  is  meant  that  reciprocal  obligation  to  yield  to 
their  spiritual  administration,  under  which  those  are  laid  who 
receive  them  as  their  spiritual  guides. 

It  is  of  importance  to  remark  that  in  this  passage  there  is 
no  shadow  of  foundation  for  the  doctrine  of  that  church  which 
would  deduce  from  it  the  supreme  and  unquestionable 
authority  of  a  pope  or  council  over  the  private  members  of  the 
church.  Neither  is  there  in  it  any  evidence  to  support  the 
dogma  which  would  assert  the  paramount  authority  of  a  bishop 
over  what  are  called  the  inferior  clergy,  or  the  right  of  any 
bench  of  clergy  to  order  and  administer  the  affairs  of  Christ's 
church  independently  of  and  without  the  concurrence  of  the 
laity. 

The  great  design  of  this  portion  of  God's  Word  is  to  make 
a  full  exhibition  of  the  work  of  the  ministry  in  its  relation  to 
God  and  to  His  people.     And  the  consideration  of  this  subject 

tSee  on  meaning  of  word  rjyovfjLevoii)  Pierce's  Texts  of  Scripture  and 
the  Lexicons. 


736  A  MINISTER  AND  HIS  PEOPIvE. 

is,  therefore,  of  peculiar  importance  and  propriety  on  this 
solemn  and  interesting  occasion. 

We  have  here  then  an  inspired  announcement  of  the  great 
object  and  design  of  the  christian  ministry. 

This  christian  ministry  is  not  of  the  earth,  earthly.  The 
world  is  the  sphere  of  its  labours,  and  men  the  subjects  upon 
whom  it  expends  its  efforts — but  in  its  origin  and  its  tendency 
is  is  of  the  heaven,  heavenly. 

The  christian  ministry  regards  not  the  body,  but  the  soul — 
for  while  the  outward  man  perishes,  the  inward  man  may 
increase  day  by  day.  In  the  deep  waters  of  tribulation  there 
may  be  joy  and  rejoicing,  and  under  the  most  wretched  bond- 
age there  may  be  possessed  the  highest,  noblest  and  purest 
freedom.  In  its  view,  therefore,  as  in  that  of  heaven,  the 
rich  and  the  poor,  the  weak  and  the  mighty,  the  bond  and  the 
free,  are  the  same,  seeing  there  is  no  respect  of  persons  with 
God. 

The  christian  ministry  has  no  connection  with  the  fashions 
of  this  world,  which  like  it  are  passing  away.  It  knows  no 
country  but  a  fallen,  ruined  world,  no  limits  but  the  boundary 
of  sin's  desolating  wretchedness,  no  ties  but  those  of  human- 
kind,, and  no  claims  but  those  of  the  poor,  the  miserable,  the 
wretched,  the  blind  and  the  naked.  It  recognizes  no  political 
distinctions,  for  these  result  from  that  very  alienation  from 
God  which  it  is  its  chief  design  to  subdue.  Nation  and  kin- 
dred and  tribe  and  people  are  terms  merged  by  it  into  that 
common  denomination  by  which  all  are  characterized  as  sin- 
ners against  heaven  and  rebels  against  the  most  High  God. 
The  field  of  the  christian  ministry  is  emphatically  the  world, 
since  the  authority  by  which  it  was  instituted  and  is  now  sup- 
ported has  commissioned  it  to  "go  into  all  the  world  and  preach 
the  gospel  to  every  creature." 

The  honour,  the  dignity,  the  official  station,  and  the  titled 
power  "which  come  from  man,"  and  which  arise  from  our 
present  relations  as  members  of  society,  lie  far  beneath  the 
celestial  aspirations  of  those  who  are  the  ambassadors  of 
Christ,  sent  by  Him  to  command  all  men,  everywhere,  to 
repent  and  believe  the  gospel.  For  while  it  is  true  that  this 
glorious  gospel  has  the  promise  of  the  life  that  is  to  come — 


A  MINISTER  AND  HIS  PEOPI.E:.  737 

though  its  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness  and  all  its  paths  are 
peace — though  length  of  days  is  in  her  right  hand  and  in  her 
left  wisdom  and  honour — though  peace  and  prosperity,  civiliza- 
tion and  happiness  follow  in  her  train — yet  these  are  but  the 
scattered  blessings  which  fall  around  her  as  she  leads  onward 
to  glory,  honour  and  a  blessed  immortality. 

Neither  is  the  cultivation  and  enlargement  of  the  mind  the 
design  of  the  ministry  of  Christ.  True,  it  addresses  itself  to 
man's  understanding  in  order  that  it  may  awaken  his  passions 
and  engage  his  heart  to  righteousness,  holiness  and  truth  as 
his  most  "reasonable  service"  and  his  most  ennobling  dignity; 
btit  while  traversing  the  region  of  fancy,  the  garden  of  imagi- 
nation, and  the  wide  domain  of  reason,  it  is  only  that  it  may 
cull  flowers  and  gather  fruits  which  shall  attract  the  wanderer 
home  to  God.  While  leading  the  listening  mind  through  these 
delightful  scenes,  it  is  that  some  chord  may  be  touched  which 
shall  vibrate  to  the  voice  of  warning,  or  that  some  notes  may 
be  sounded  which  shall  awaken  in  the  long  lost  exile  the  fond 
remembrance  and  the  anxious  desire  for  his  fatherland.  The 
heart  of  the  preacher  burns,  his  mind  labors,  and  his  whole 
soul  agonizes,  until  the  eye  of  his  hearer  can  be  averted  from 
earth  and  fixed  in  concentrated  attention  upon  God,  eternity, 
and  eternal  retributions. 

It  is  true  the  minister  must  "find  out  acceptable  words,"  and 
"give  himself  to  reading,"  that  he  may  "rightly  divide  the  word 
of  truth,  giving  to  each  man  his  portion  in  due  season,"  and 
"that  thus  his  profiting  may  appear  unto  all."  Yet  he  is  to 
"commend  himself  to  every  man's  conscience,"  not  by  "the 
enticing  words  of  man's  wisdom,"  but  "by  manifestation  of 
the  truth  in  the  sight  of  God."  He  must  "seek  a  good  report 
of  those  that  are  without,"  but  it  is  by  speaking  the  things 
"which  become  sound  doctrine" — in  all  things  "showing  him- 
self a  pattern  of  good  works ;"  and  thus  "holding  fast  the 
faithful  word  that  he  may  be  able,  by  sound  doctrine,  both  to 
exhort  and  to  convince  the  gainsayers." 

Eloquence  will  move,  but  it  cannot  change,  the  heart. 
Learning  will  convince,  but  it  cannot  rectify,  a  disordered 
understanding.  These  form  the  weapons  by  which  "the  wis- 
dom of  the  world"  subdues  to  its  purposes  the  reluctant  mind. 

47_Vol.  X. 


738  A  MINISTER  AND  HIS  PEOPLE. 

But  the  preacher  is  not  a  philosopher,  or  a  moralist, — he  is  a 
"minister  of  Christ."  "The  weapons  of  his  warfare  are  not 
carnal,  but  spiritual,"  and  though  "foolishness"  in  the  estima- 
tion of  men,  they  are  "the  power  of  God  unto  the  salvation  of 
the  soul."  "For  after  that  in  the  wisdom  of  God  the  world  by- 
wisdom  knew  not  God,  it  pleased  God  by  the  foolishness  of 
preaching  to  save  them  that  believe ;  for  the  Jews  still  require 
a  sign  and  the  Greeks  still  seek  after  wisdom,  but  we  preach 
Christ  crucified  unto  such  Jews  a  stumbling  block,  and  unto 
such  Greeks  foolishness,  but  under  them  who  are  called,  both 
Jews  and  Greeks,  Christ,  the  power  of  God  and  the  wisdom 
of  God — which  Saviour  we  preach,  warning  every  man  and 
teaching  every  man  in  all  wisdom  that  we  may  present  every 
man  perfect  in  Christ  Jesus,  testifying  both  to  the  Jews  and 
also  to  the  Greeks  repentance  toward  God  and  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

Christ  died  not  to  enlighten,  but  to  save  the  soul ;  and  the 
gospel  regards  men  not  as  intellectual  amateurs,  but  as  sinners 
before  God.  The  salvation  of  the  soul — its  redemption  from 
the  curse  of  the  law — its  deliverance  from  the  wrath  of  God — 
its  exaltation  to  the  blessedness  of  heaven — this  is  the  first  and 
this  is  the  last  end  of  the  ministers  of  Christ,  for  "they  watch 
for  souls." 

And  in  what  way  are  they  thus  to  watch?  They  are  to 
watch  as  shepherds,  upon  whom  it  is  enjoined  to  "feed  Christ's 
sheep,"  and  to  go  out  into  the  wilderness  and  "seek  those  that 
are  lost," — sleeplessly  guarding  them, — going  before  and  lead- 
ing them  into  the  greenest  pastures,  warning  them  in  all  time 
of  danger,  and  plucking  them  out  of  the  hands  of  all  who 
would  hurt  or  destroy. 

They  are  to  watch  as  "stewards  of  the  manifold  gifts  of 
God,"  and  must,  therefore,  be  "willing  to  communicate,"  "apt 
to  teach,"  "spending  and  being  spent  for  Christ." 

They  must  watch  as  fathers,  providing  for  the  spiritual 
necessities  of  the  children,  comforting  the  poor  in  spirit,  edify- 
ing the  weak,  instructing  the  ignorant,  warning  the  thoughtless 
and  reproving  the  disobedient. 

They  must  watch  as  ambassadors,  speaking  in  the  name  of 
Him  who  sent  them,  "with  all  authority,"  "declaring  the  whole 


A  MINISTER  AND  HIS  PEOPLE.  739 

counsel  of  God,"  and  proclaiming  the  day  of  coming  retribu- 
tion. 

They  must  watch  well  how  they  preach,  and  what  they 
preach — the  words  they  speak,  the  doctrines  they  inculcate,  the 
duties  they  enjoin,  the  ordinances  they  administer,  the  laws 
they  enforce,  and  the  censures  they  inflict. 

To  sum  up  all,  they  must  watch,  in  humility,  in  the  felt  con- 
sciousness of  their  utter  insufficiency,  in  prayer,  in  dependence 
upon  God,  in  faith,  in  courage,  and  in  zeal. 

We  now  proceed  to  remark  that  in  this  work  ministers  act 
under  the  highest  authority,  "for  they  watch  for  souls  as  they 
who  must  give  an  account." 

Accountability  implies  trust.  The  nature  and  extent  of  that 
trust,  and  the  character  of  him  by  whom  it  is  given,  measure 
the  accountability.  By  whom  then  is  the  minister  entrusted 
with  his  office? 

Not  assuredly  by  man,  and  therefore  is  its  honour  not  to  be 
adjudged  by  man,  nor  its  accountabilities  felt  towards  man, 
nor  its  administration,  influenced  by  the  fear  or  the  favor  of 
nian.  No;  the  minister  of  Christ  is  commissioned  by  Christ, 
with  whom  he  is  a  co-worker, — to  whom  he  is  responsible, — by 
whom  he  shall  be  rewarded,  and  whose  glory  he  partakes.  By 
Christ,  the  King  and  Head  of  Zion,  he  is  put  in  trust  with 
nothing  less  precious  and  priceless  than  the  glory  of  God,  the 
cause  of  Christ,  the  triumph  of  the  gospel,  the  overthrow  of 
sin,  and  the  salvation  of  souls. 

The  office,  dignity  and  authority  of  a  minister,  as  they  are 
not  created  so  neither  can  they  be  destroyed  by  man.  They 
depend  not  on  man's  uncertain  will ;  they  live  not  on  his  favor, 
nor  are  they  lost  by  his  caprice.  They  cease  not  even  with 
time  itself.  Death  does  not  destroy  their  influence,  and  their 
results  go  with  him  into  eternity  and  shall  there  characterize 
his  destiny  for  glory  or  for  shame,  for  "he  must  give  account" 
The  minister  must  give  account  of  himself  and  of  his  hear- 
ers— of  the  manner  in  which  he  discharges  his  duties  and  in 
which  they  fulfill  theirs.  His  own  heart,  his  closet,  his  study, 
his  life  and  conversation,  his  public  ministrations,  and  the  dis- 
cipline of  the  church,  must  all  come  into  review  before  an  holy 
and  impartial  tribunal. 


740  A  MINISTER  AND  HIS  PEOPLK. 

Your  treatment  of  him  as  Christ's  ambassador, — your  recep- 
tion of  his  message  as  sent  by  God, — your  co-operation  with 
his  plans  for  the  conversion  of  others  and  the  edification  or 
revival  of  your  own  heart, — the  manner  in  which  you  attend 
upon  the  house  of  God,  listen  to  the  word  of  instruction,  obey 
its  precepts,  and  enter  upon  those  duties  necessary  to  the  pro- 
priety of  the  church  and  the  cause  of  Christ,  must  also  appear 
in  judgment  before  God  that  impartial  justice  may  weigh  the 
balance. 

This  solemn  reckoning  of  your  minister's  labors  and  of  your 
conduct  must  be  made  to  Christ,  and  to  God,  in  the  presence  of 
an  assembled  universe,  and  upon  it  will  depend  the  decision  of 
the  awful  question :  "Shall  he  be  saved  and  his  people  perish ; 
shall  their  blood  be  upon  his  soul  or  upon  their  own ;  or  shall 
they  both  rejoice  together  in  continued  and  eternal  fellow- 
ship?" 

Such  a  review,  as  far  as  it  now  can  be  done,  should  be  made 
daily  in  the  retirement  of  the  heart  before  Him  who  seeth  in 
secret  and  who  will  openly  decide,  that  guidance  may  be 
received  and  strength  imparted  for  future  efforts.  Your  rela- 
tion, therefore,  brethren,  to  the  minister  of  the  Gospel  is  not 
transient.  It,  too,  outlives  the  world  in  which  you  now  abide, 
and  will  be  found  lasting  as  immortality. 

If  by  your  neglect  of  his  ministrations,  your  indifference  to 
his  entreaties,  your  scornful  rejection  of  his  warning,  your 
proud  resistance  to  his  commands,  your  absence  from  the 
appointed  assemblies  of  the  church,  your  unwillingness  to 
co-operate  in  the  promotion  of  every  good  work — if  in  any  such 
way  you  cause  the  minister  of  Christ  to  make  this  account  with 
grief  and  not  with  joy — remember  it  will  be  unprofitable  for 
you.  The  original  word  is  here  very  expressive.  According 
to  Danaus  it  is  best  translated  by  the  proverb  "it  will  not  quit 
the  cost  ;"*  that  is,  you  will  gain  nothing,  literally  you  will  lose 
the  pension  or  reward,  which,  by  obedience  and  devotedness, 
you  might  have  secured.f  Such  conduct,  therefore,  though  it 
may  appear  to  promote  your  worldly  interests,  though  it  seem 

*See  in  Leigh's  Crit.  Sacr.  and  in  Parkhurst's  Greek  Lexicon. 
tSee  origin  of  '^XucriTeX^?  in  Scapula  Gr.  Lex. 


A  MINISTER  AND  HIS  PKOPLU.  741 

to  gain  time  and  opportunity  for  increasing  in  wealth,  advanc- 
ing in  honor,  or  enjoying  the  comforts  and  pleasures  of  life, 
will  be  found  at  last  altogether  profitless,  highly  dangerous  and 
extremely  wicked. 

We  have  entered,  therefore,  upon  a  relation  which  has  refer- 
ence to  eternity.  Viewed  in  the  light  of  the  temporal  interests 
and  the  outward  prosperity  of  this  church  and  congregation  it 
is  of  the  highest  importance ;  but  in  its  bearing  upon  the  salva- 
tion of  your  souls,  and  the  character  of  this  congregation  in  the 
day  of  judgment,  this  interest  becomes  overwhelming.  No 
connection  could  be  entered  into  so  solemn,  so  sacred  as  this. 
Other  engagements  regard  the  body,  this  the  soul ;  others  look 
out  upon  time,  this  upon  time  and  that  period  when  time  shall 
be  no  more ; — others  cease  with  the  circumstances  which  gave 
them  birth,  this  shall  remain  unchanged  when  all  such  circum- 
stances have  for  ever  passed  away ;  others  may  be  terminated 
and  the  parties  remain  the  same,  the  effects  of  this  engagement 
can  be  determined  only  at  the  bar  of  God.  We  may  continue 
together  a  long  or  a  shorter  time.  Months,  or  years  may  char- 
acterize the  duration  of  our  bonds.  We  may  be  severed  by 
death,  or  by  the  call  of  Providence  summoning  us  to  other  and 
different  locations ;  but  we  can  never  be  delivered  from  the 
responsibilities  of  this  hour.  We  must  meet  each  other  as 
Pastor  and  people  when  with  all  flesh  we  shall  stand  at  the 
judgment  seat  of  Christ.  God  grant  that  your  pastor,  then, 
may  be  your  rejoicing  and  you  his  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

This  union  affects  us  mutually.  By  your  call  he  becomes 
your  pastor,  and  you  have  become  my  people.  By  calling  me 
you  have  committed  yourselves.  Before  God  and  man,  and  in 
dependence  upon  divine  grace  I  have  pledged  to  instruct,  and 
you  that  you  will  hear  instruction ;  I  that  I  will  warn,  and  you 
that  you  will  receive  the  warning ;  I  that  I  will  study  God's  will, 
and  you  that  you  will  obey  all  God's  commandments.  Woe  is 
unto  me  if  I  preach  not  the  Gospel !  and  how  shall  ye  escape  if 
ye  neglect  or  reject  the  great  salvation!  If  I  break  one  of  the 
least  of  Christ's  ordained  commandments  and  teach  you  so  I 
shall  be  called  least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  if  I  do  and 
teach  according  to  this  law  and  testimony  and  ye  obey  not,  "of 


742  A  MINISTER  AND  HIS  PEOPI^E. 

how  much  sorer  punishment  shall  ye  be  thought  worthy."  It 
is  an  awful  possibility  that  after  preaching  to  you  the  Gospel  I 
should  be  myself  a  castaway ;  but  oh,  it  is  also  too  possible  that 
from  the  full  enjoyment  of  that  Gospel  some  of  you  shall  be 
cast  into  the  damnation  of  hell.  "Who  is  sufficient  for  these 
things  ?"  Shall  we  not  in  humility,  in  penitence,  in  faith,  and 
in  strong  affection,  bear  one  another's  burdens,  pray  one  for 
another,  be  fellow  helpers  of  each  other,  and  thus  hand  in  hand 
go  forward  in  every  good  work,  rejoicing  in  hope  of  the  glory 
of  God? 

From  these  sacred  obligations  into  which  we  have  thus 
entered,  we  can  by  no  possibility  be  freed.  If  unsuitably 
united  we  may  agree  to  part,  but  of  this  partnership  in  its  inter- 
minating  consequences  there  can  be  no  dissolution.  God  alone 
in  the  judgment  of  the  great  day  can  make  a  distribution,  and 
give  to  each  his  portion.  Christians,  you  were  already  under 
obligation  to  live  for  God,  to  His  glory  and  the  advancement  of 
His  cause  by  virtue  of  your  solemn  profession  and  of  many 
former  engagements.  But  you  have  now  called  on  God  to  wit- 
ness the  renewed  acknowledgment  that  you  are  to  live  not  for 
yourselves  but  for  Him,  who  bought  you  by  receiving  me  as 
your  minister.  In  like  manner,  fellow  sinners,  it  was  already 
your  duty  as  you  valued  your  immortal  interests,  and  the  favor 
or  the  wrath  of  heaven,  to  come  up  to  the  house  of  God  and 
obey  what  the  Lord  there  said  unto  your  souls.  But  by  con- 
curring in  this  arrangement  you  now  make  it  my  solemn  duty 
to  warn,  reprove  and  rebuke  you,  and  you  now  put  to  your  seal 
that  it  is  your  equal  obligation  to  attend  and  hear  and  do.  For 
the  manner  in  which  you  shall  fulfil  this  avowed  responsibility 
you  must  in  eternity  answer.  There  is  resting  upon  you  not 
merely  the  original  obligation  of  creatureship ;  not  merely  the 
innate  consciousness  of  untransferable  accountability;  not 
merely  the  positive  authority  of  God's  immutable  declarations ; 
not  merely  the  obligation  of  that  christian  education  by  which 
you  were  trained  for  God ;  but  there  is  added  to  them  all  this 
voluntary  recognition  of  the  claims  of  heaven. 

This   obligation   respects   the  doctrine,   the   ordinances,   the 
services  and  the  discipline  of  this  church.     Nor  reviling  any 


A  MINISTER  AND  HIS  PEOPLE.  743 

of  these  doctrines,  by  keeping  away  from  any  of  these  ordi- 
nances, by  absenting  yourself  from  any  of  these  services,  not 
proved  unscriptural  or  unauthorized  by  the  word  of  God,  by 
opposing  this  discipline  or  encouraging  its  neglect,  you  bring 
judgment  upon  your  own  souls. 

In  coming  to  this  church  recollect  you  come  on  the  business 
of  your  souls.  The  promotion  of  your  everlasting  welfare  is 
the  one  great  design  of  the  instituted  church  of  Christ.  For 
this  did  God  become  man,  for  this  as  man  did  He  die,  for  this 
did  He  ascend  to  the  right  hand  of  the  Father  that  He  might 
ever  live  as  a  Saviour  and  an  Intercessor ;  for  this  has  He  given 
us  the  Sabbath,  and  the  ministry  and  the  house  of  prayer ;  for 
this  has  He  erected  the  throne  of  grace  and  there  promised  to 
hear  our  prayers  and  listen  to  our  praises  and  manifest  Himself 
in  the  greatness  of  His  power  as  an  Almighty  Redeemer. 
"This,  then,  is  none  other  than  the  house  of  God  and  the  gate 
of  heaven."  "The  Lord  is  in  this  holy  tabernacle  and  holiness 
becometh  His  house  for  ever."  "Woe  unto  them  who  draw 
nigh  unto  God  with  their  mouths,  and  honour  Him  with  their 
lips,  while  their  heart  is  far  from  Him."  "Woe  unto  those  who 
come  up  to  the  house  of  God  to  be  seen  of  men !"  "For  thus 
saith  the  Lord  God  of  hosts.  For  as  much  as  this  people  draw 
near  me  with  their  mouth,  and  with  their  lips  do  honour  me 
but  have  removed  their  heart  far  from  me  and  their  fear 
toward  me  is  taught  by  the  precept  of  men :  Behold  it  is  written 
before  me,  I  will  not  keep  silence  but  will  recompense,  even 
recompense  to  their  bosom."  Take  heed,  then,  brethren,  unto 
your  own  souls  "that  ye  come  not  together  for  the  worse," 
rather  than  the  better,  twining  the  mercy  of  God  into  a  savour 
of  death  rather  than  a  savour  of  life.  What  shall  ye  answer  God 
when  He  taketh  away  your  soul,  when  hypocrites  shall  perish 
and  those  who  behave  sinfully  in  Zion  shall  be  made  afraid? 
How  can  you  then  dwell  with  devouring  flames ;  how  can  you 
lie  down  in  everlasting  burnings  ? 

In  attending  upon  the  services  of  this  sanctuary  forget  not 
also  that  you  listen  to  one  who  must  watch  for  your  souls,  who 
must  give  account  of  the  faithfulness  of  his  preaching  and  the 
manner  of  your  hearing,  who  speaks  by  commandment  from 
heaven,  who  is  clothed  with  the  delegated  authority  of  Christ, 


744  A  MINISTER  AND  HIS  PEOPLE. 

and  whose  words  therefore  are  life  or  death  to  the  believing 
or  rejecting  heart. 

"Hear,  then,  the  word  of  the  Lord,  ye  rulers,  give  ear  unto 
the  law  of  your  God,  ye  people,  not  that  we  are  sufficient  of 
ourselves,  to  think  or  speak  any  thing  as  of  ourselves,  but  our 
sufficiency  is  of  God  who  also  can  make  us  able  ministers  of  the 
New  Testament.  Let  no  man  then  despise  us,  for  he  that 
despiseth  despiseth  not  man  but  God  who  also  hath  promised 
His  Holy  Spirit." 

The  results  of  this  day's  connection  must  be  soon  settled. 
Whether  I  shall  be  to  you  the  messenger  of  salvation  or  the 
means  of  hardening  your  heart  into  a  final  resistance  of  the 
Gospel,  will  be  very  speedily  made  manifest.  Your  character 
is  undergoing  a  daily  transformation.  You  cannot  abide  the 
same  to  day  that  you  were  yesterday.  The  appeals  of  the  Gos- 
pel cannot  be  without  effect,  and  if  you  will  not  obey  its  voice  at 
once,  as  your  last  remaining  hope,  then  are  your  eyes  fast  clos- 
ing so  that  they  shall  not  see,  and  your  ears  that  they  will  not 
hear,  and  your  heart  hardening  that  it  cannot  feel.  Obduracy 
of  mind,  enmity  to  the  truth,  blindness  of  soul,  open  infidelity, 
or  death,  must  be  the  issue  of  that  careless,  trifling  and  hestitat- 
ing  course  which  too  many  of  you  are  perhaps  pursuing. 

In  the  vision  of  a  trembling  imagination  I  fancy  before  me 
many  who  now  listen  with  wakeful  interest,  who  now  know  and 
feel  their  sinfulness,  their  need  of  Christ  and  their  duty  to 
embrace  Him, — the  open  enemies  of  the  truth,  the  avowed 
opponents  of  Christianity,  the  abandoned  blasphemies  of  their 
God,  the  crucifiers  of  the  Lord  that  bought  them,  delivered 
over  to  Satan  forsaken  of  God  and  urging  on  in  bold  effrontery 
to  the  challenged  retributions  of  an  awful  eternity. 

That  final  account  must  be  soon  rendered.  Few  are  the 
days  of  the  years  that  remain,  brethren,  to  any  of  us.  A  little 
while  and  those  who  are  now  assembled  within  these  walls 
shall  have  been  gathered  one  by  one  around  the  Judge  of  the 
whole  earth.  This  world  shall  have  vanished,  all  earthly  dis- 
tinctions be  forgotten,  the  honours,  the  riches  and  the  pleasures 
of  time  unremembered,  present  occupations  lost  in  their  utter 
insignificance,  and  all  that  now  engrosses  our  desires  and  inter- 


A  MINISTER  AND  HIS  PEOPLE.  745 

ests  the  heart  brought  to  view  only  as  they  affect  our  character 
in  a  world  where  it  will  be  for  ever  unalterable. 

There  are  many  who  were  accustomed  to  worship  in  God's 
earthly  sanctuary.  There  are  those  whose  remains  moulder  in 
the  dust  of  many  a  surrounding  graveyard.  There,  too,  are 
those  who  once  stood  forth  as  we  now  stand,  the  heralds  of  an 
Almighty  Saviour — who  were  clothed  with  the  robes  of  minis- 
terial office, — who  laboured  among  you  in  word  and  doctrine, 
and  who  are  awaiting  your  appearance  at  the  Bar  of  God  that 
you  may  all  together  stand  before  Him.  And  there,  too,  ere 
long  will  be  he  who  now  addresses  you, — he  who  is  now  to  be 
placed  over  you  in  the  Lord, — and  you  who  are  now  addressed. 

Brethren,  the  time  is  short — the  hour  approacheth,  the  bride- 
groom cometh,  the  veil  of  time  is  opening  and  that  dread  and 
awful  scene  is  bursting  upon  our  view.  Are  you  ready?  Are 
your  loins  girded  about  you?  Are  your  lamps  trimmed  and 
burning?  Are  you  clothed  with  the  whole  armour  of  God? 
Are  you  living  to  Christ?  Are  you  consecrated  to  His  service? 
Are  you  faithful  to  your  vows,  to  your  heart,  to  your  closet,  to 
your  Bible,  to  your  church,  to  the  world?  Are  you  living  to 
die — and  dying  while  you  live  so  that  when  you  die  you  may 
die  in  the  Lord  ? 

Very  soon  these  will  be  the  only  questions  which  can  interest 
your  mind:  Awake  then!  Awake  thou  that  sleepeth!  Pre- 
pare to  meet  thy  God! 


IN  MEMORIAM 


Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 


V'Charleston  Daily  News  and  Courier,"  November  ith,  1873.] 

A  TRIBUTE 
IN  LOVING  REMEMBRANCE  OF  REV.  THOMAS  SMYTH,  D.  D. 

I. 

A  noble  mission  is  fulfilled, 

The  dear,  brave,  faithful  lips  are  stilled, 

The  great  heart's  dumb ; 
The  busy  hands  find  rest  at  last. 
The  work  is  o'er,  the  conflict's  past, 

And  peace  is  come ! 

11. 
Gazing  down  on  that  quiet  face, 
Did  not  your  loving  instincts  trace 

Chis'ling  divine? — 
The  scripture  of  a  hidden  gain  ? — 
The  mystic  aftermath  of  pain  ? — 

God's  solemn  sign. 

III. 

That  we  might  see  in  some  dim  wise, 
How  underneath  this  mortal  guise 

The  soul  grew  fair — 
The  stronger  virtues  grandly  blent, 
With  child-like  love  and  meek  content, 

In  concord  rare ! 

IV. 

Those  white  still  lips  beneath  the  sod 
Many  a  soul  have  won  for  God ; 

And  who  may  tell 
How  many  hearts  that  patient  pen 
Has  blessed,  and  soothed,  and  cheered  again 

At  Baca's  "Well?" 

V. 
Loving  seeds  by  the  wayside  sown. 
Many  an  erring  one  has  borne 

To  Jesus'  feet. 
And  in  our  homes  his  words  of  prayer 
Have  made  the  sorrow  seem  less  drear, 

The  joys  more  sweet. 

VI. 
Then,  when  the  Master's  chast'ning  hand 
Had  smitten  with  the  sore  command, 

The  brief— "Be  still!" 
With  steadfast  faith  and  courage  high, 
The  cross  was  borne,  the  work  laid  by, 

At  Jesus'  will. 


750  IN  MEMORIAM. 

VII 
So  day  by  day  the  faint  feet  trod 
The  path  that  led  him  nearer  God, 

And  nearer  "Home ;" 
And  then  his  footsteps  touched  the  brim 
Of  Jordan's  waters  chill  and  dim 

With  dashing  foam. 

VIII. 
A  solemn  peace  was  on  the  face. 
The  pale  lips  smiled  with  saintly  grace, 
And  then  grew  still ; 
And  sunset's  parting  glory  shone 
On  features  white  as  graven  stone. 
And  deathly  chill. 

IX. 
The  "faith"  was  "kept,"  the  "course"  was  rui 
The  final  vict'ry  grandly  won  ; 

And  now  the  King 
Doth  grace  that  brow,  all  seamed  with  scars, 
With  wondrous  "crown"  of  many  stars. 

While  anthems  ring! 

Charleston,  October  20,  1873. 


The  Christian  Warrior  Crowned. 


A  DISCOURSE 

Commemorative  of  the  Life,  Character  and  Labors 
of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D.,  Delivered 
in  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  Charles- 
ton, S.  C,  December  14th,  1873, 


^Y  THE 

Rev.  G.  R.  Brackett,  Pastor. 


Printed  at  Request  of  the  Congregation. 


INew  York  Observer,  April  16,  1874.] 

"The  Christian  Warrior  Crowned,"  is  the  title  of  a  Discourse  commemo- 
rative of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Smyth,  for  many  years  well  and  widely 
known  pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  church  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  who 
died  at  his  home  in  Charleston,  August  20,  1873.  He  was  born  at  Belfast, 
June  14,  1808,  and  educated  in  part  at  Belfast  College,  prosecuting  his 
theological  course  at  Highbury  College,  London,  and  completing  it  after 
coming  to  this  country  in  1830,  at  Princeton  Seminary.  For  more  than 
forty  years  he  continued  in  his  pastoral  relations  to  the  same  people,  and 
acquired  a  reputation  for  scholarship,  ability  and  fidelity  to  the  gospel 
which  extended  over  the  land.  The  author  of  the  discourse.  Dr.  Smyth's 
successor,  the  Rev.  G.  R.  Brackett,  pays  a  fitting  tribute  to  the  character, 
worth  and  labors  of  one  whose  name  fills  a  large  place  in  the  Presbtyerian 
history  of  the  Southern  States. 


THE  CHRISTIAN   WARRIOR   CROWNED. 


2  Tim.  4:17:  "I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of  my 
departure  is  at  hand.  I  have  fought  a  good  fight.  I  have  finished  my 
course,  I  have  kept  the  faith :  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown 
of  righteousness." 

"I  do  not  fear  to  affirm,"  says  Cousin,  "that  the  two  pursuits 
which  most  promote  the  development  of  great  individuahties 
are  war  and  philosophy.  *  *  *  Nowhere  do  the  masses  identify 
themselves  more  visibly  with  great  men  than  on  the  field  of 
battle;  but  if  the  identification  is  more  brilliant  in  the  great 
captain,  it  is  more  intimate  and  profound  in  the  great  philoso- 
pher." We  are  assembled  to-night,  dear  friends,  to  contem- 
plate the  character  and  life  of  a  Christian  warrior,  and  a  Chris- 
tian philosopher.  Great  in  action  and  great  in  thought,  he 
fought  bravely  and  successfully  the  "good  fight  of  faith,"  and, 
in  the  solitude  of  the  closet,  ceased  not,  day  and  night,  to  gather 
the  precious  seed,  and  sow  the  golden  harvest  of  philosophic 
wisdom. 

The  name  of  Dr.  Smyth  belongs  as  much  to  history  as  to 
biography;  as  much  to  posterity  as  to  the  generation  he  so 
valiantly  and  faithfully  served.  He  so  identified  himself  with 
the  age  in  which  he  lived,  he  sympathized  so  heartily  and  so 
profoundly  with  the  cause  of  truth  in  every  department,  and 
the  cause  of  humanity  in  every  aspect,  that  justice  to  his 
memory  would  require  us  to  ascend  above  the  level  plain  of  his 
daily  life,  above  the  lower  summits  of  his  ordinary  ministry, 
to  some  historical  height,  overlooking  the  world-wide  sphere 
of  his  influence.  My  brief  and  limited  acquaintance  with  the 
private  character,  the  protracted  ministry,  and  published  writ- 
ings of  your  late  greatly  beloved  and  venerated  pastor 
oppresses  me  with  a  profound  sense  of  my  inability  to  do  ample 
justice  to  his  character  and  labors,  and  present  you  with  a 
worthy  memorial.  To  produce  the  lineaments  of  youth,  and 
the  countenance  and  form  of  manhood  from  the  wreck  of  dis- 
ease and  the  infirmities  of  age,  is  a  rare  attainment  of  art.  It 
is  still  a  cherished  hope  that  some  master  hand  may  be  found 
to  fill  up  this  dim  and  defective  outline,  and  present  the  world 

48— Vol.  X. 


754  IN  MEMORIAM, 

with  a  complete  and  satisfactory  portraiture  of  this  remarkable 
man. 

If,  in  sketching  the  more  prominent  features  of  his  mental 
and  moral  character,  the  ardent  love  of  the  artist  should  seem 
to  supply  the  lack  of  details  by  too  great  brilliancy  of  coloring, 
no  apology  will  be  required  by  those  who  enjoyed  a  personal 
acquaintance  with  the  original,  in  his  prime.  We  are  disturbed 
by  no  fears  that  even  the  partialities  of  friendship  will  betray 
our  pencil  into  an  exaggerated  representation  of  those  virtues 
and  deeds  which  the  "finger  of  truth  has  already  drawn  upon 
your  hearts."  We  may  do  more  honor  to  the  memory  of  a 
great  and  good  man  by  glorifying  the  Master  who  so  royally 
endowed  him  with  the  gifts  of  nature  and  of  grace,  than  by 
burning  idolatrous  incense  at  the  shrine  of  human  merit. 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D.,  was  born  in  Belfast,  Ire- 
land, on  the  14th  of  June,  1808,  of  English  and  Scotch  parent- 
age. He  was  reared  upon  Irish  soil  in  an  eventful  period  of 
her  history.  A  philosophic  mind  might  trace  with  interest  and 
profit  the  influences  of  four  nationalities  in  the  formation  of 
character,  and  show  how  the  roots  that  drew  their  original  life 
from  the  blood  of  two  races,  germinated  and  grew  in  the  soil 
and  climate  of  a  third,  and  in  the  free,  bracing  atmosphere  of 
a  fourth,  expanded  into  summer  bloom,  and  autumnal  ripeness. 
And  how  this  interest  would  increase  at  every  step,  as  the 
analyst  discovered  that  he  was  tracing  the  history  of  a  life  that 
absorbed  every  element  of  nourishment  from  every  soil  and 
clime  into  its  own  intellectual  and  moral  character. 

His  mother  is  described  as  a  woman  of  superior  intelligence 
and  attainments,  of  deep  and  earnest  piety,  whose  highest 
aspiration  was  to  train  her  children  in  the  fear  and  love  of  God. 
He  ever  cherished  her  memory  with  filial  tenderness,  and 
always  mentioned  her  name  with  the  utmost  reverence.  Allud- 
ing to  her  maternal  kindness  and  care  for  him  during  the 
critical  season  of  his  youth,  he  wrote  in  his  private  journal  as 
follows :  "Most  blessed  mother,  could  my  thanks  now  reach 
thee,  in  thy  bright  throne  above,  I  should  here,  amid  these  fall- 
ing tears,  pour  forth  the  grateful  acknowledgements  of  thy 
long  cherished  son.  I  love  to  think  of  thee,  my  mother,  of  thy 
illimitable,  inexhaustible  love." 


IN  MEMORIAM.  755 

The  youngest  of  six  sons,  he  was  of  so  frail  a  constitution 
that  no  one  expected  him  to  Hve  beyond  the  period  of  child- 
hood. But  he  was  a  "chosen  vessel."  Consecrated  from  his 
birth  to  the  Gospel  ministry,  his  pious  mother  committed  her 
treasure  to  a  covenant-keeping  God.  Her  strong  faith  and 
earnest  prayers  were  interwoven  with  that  sovereign  and  gra- 
cious Providence  that  marvellously  preserved  him,  notwith- 
standing the  continuance  of  his  delicate  health,  and  girded  him 
for  his  extraordinary  mission. 

His  excessive  fondness  for  books  was  early  developed. 
W'hen  his  youthful  companions  were  enjoying  the  diverting 
sports  of  boyhood,  he  might  have  been  found,  in  his  favorite 
cloister,  embosomed  in  the  dense  foliage  of  a  tree,  poring  over 
the  pages  of  a  juvenile  book,  and  often  "shedding  his  sympa- 
thetic tears  over  DeFoe's  inimitable  story."  Robinson  Crusoe, 
he  remarked,  was  to  his  credulous  youth,  a  true  history,  and, 
in  later  life,  he  loved  to  speak  of  it  as  one  of  his  classics.  The 
influence  of  fairy  tales  and  ghost  stories  upon  his  imagination 
was  so  "deep  and  ineffaceable,  that  neither  philosophy  nor 
religion  could  wholly  eradicate  it." 

It  is  interesting  and  instructive  to  observe  how  those 
whom  God  elects  to  be  leaders  and  champions  in  His  cause  are 
trained  in  the  school  of  adversity,  and  called  to  bear  the  yoke 
of  discipline  in  their  youth.  At  the  early  age  of  seventeen,  the 
young  and  enthusiastic  student  was  interrupted  in  his  studies 
by  one  of  those  great  commercial  disasters  which  sweep  away 
the  fortunes  of  the  most  wealthy  in  a  day,  and  which  reduced 
his  father  from  the  easy  and  independent  circumstances  of 
affluence  to  comparative  poverty.  Feeling  that  he  was  now 
thrown  upon  his  own  resources,  and  also  called  to  aid  his  par- 
ents in  bearing  the  burden  of  their  misfortunes,  he  resolved  to 
accept  a  profitable  business  offer,  and  exchange  the  academy 
for  the  counting  house.  But  with  a  strength  of  will  and  firm- 
ness of  purpose  equal  to  her  Christian  faith  and  hope,  his 
heroic  mother  determined  that  the  fond  expectations  she  had 
planted  in  so  promising  a  soil  should  not  be  suddenly  blighted 
by  the  untimely  frosts  of  misfortune.  She  would  labor  with 
her  own  hands  and  her  noble  boy  should  pursue  his  studies. 


756  IN  MEMORIAM. 

He,  accordingly,  entered  the  Institute  at  Belfast,  which  was 
then  connected  with  what  is  now  the  Queen's  College,  as  a 
preparatory  or  high  school.  His  academical  career  was  bright 
with  glowing  prophecies  of  his  future  eminence.  The  love  of 
books  was  the  strongest  passion  of  his  nature,  and  the  acquisi- 
tion of  knowledge  his  highest  ambition.  It  is  not  surprising 
that,  with  a  mind  so  early  trained  by  habits  of  close  and  pro- 
tracted application,  and  so  richly  nourished  by  various  and 
extensive  reading,  he  should  have  been  prominent  among  his 
fellow-students,  and  borne  off  a  prize  at  every  examination. 

In  reviewing  his  early,  youthful  experience,  he  remarked: 
"This  period  of  life  is  regarded  generally  happy.  I  am  per- 
suaded that  it  is  only  so  comparatively ;  and,  when  viewed 
retrospectively,  my  experience  testifies  that  it  is  a  troubled 
dream,  a  mingled  scene  of  joy  and  sorrow,  of  hopes  and  fears, 
of  delights  and  disconsolations,  of  boisterous  mirth  and  gloomy 
sadness.  Youth,  to  me,  was  a  wild  and  feverish  romance.  It 
was  the  poetry  of  life,  only  because  it  was  full  of  the  most 
tragic  incidents,  and  convulsed  by  tempestuous  and  whirlwind 
passions." 

So  intense  was  his  love  of  study  at  this  period,  that  he  looked 
forward  to  every  academical  term  with  sorrowful  regret. 
Vacation  was  a  dreary  interval,  during  which  he  was  to  be 
deprived  of  his  favorite  pursuit,  which  constituted  for  him  the 
chief  charm  and  privilege  of  existence.  Speaking  of  his  vaca- 
tion days,  he  said:  "I  lingered  behind  the  racing  throng  hur- 
rying homeward,  as  if  fearful  of  losing  a  moment  of  the 
precious  season.  I  have  felt  a  most  unaccountable  sickness,  of 
a  most  painful  kind,  and  I  have  walked  along,  as  in  sadness, 
even  when  carrying  an  armful  of  prizes." 

In  1827,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  he  became  a  student  at  Bel- 
fast College.  Exhibiting  here  the  same  avarice  of  knowledge, 
and  the  same  indefatigable  industry  in  his  preparations  for 
the  classroom,  he  maintained  his  relative  position,  as  primus 
inter  pares;  and,  winning  prizes  in  every  branch  of  study,  his 
superior  scholarship  was  acknowledged  by  his  entire  class  of 
nearly  a  hundred  students,  who,  by  their  unanimous  suffrage, 
awarded  to  him  the  highest  prize. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  757 

It  was  within  these  classic  walls  that,  under  the  private 
instructions  of  the  famous  tragedian,  Sheridan  Knowles,  he 
began  to  develop  those  powers  of  elocution,  which  afterward 
give  him  a  place  among  the  princes  of  pulpit  oratory. 

During  his  senior  year,  his  religious  impressions,  which  had 
been  early  developed  and  always  lively,  were,  by  the  effectual 
grace  of  God,  ripened  into  deep,  settled  convictions.  Knowing 
his  strong  self-will  and  independent  spirit,  we  are  prepared  for 
the  statement  that  he  did  not  find  peace  in  believing  until  after 
a  long  and  bitter  struggle  with  his  carnal  nature. 

The  exercises  which  the  soul  undergoes  in  this  great  spiritual 
change  undoubtedly  exert  a  decided  influence  over  the  subse- 
quent life.  The  conversion  of  young  Smyth  seemed  to  have 
been  ordered  with  reference  to  the  sphere  of  eminent  useful- 
ness for  which  the  Providence  of  God  was  training  him. 
Through  darkness,  doubt  and  conflict,  he  emerges  into  the 
serene  light  of  the  Gospel,  with  decided,  unequivocal  views  of 
the  truth,  prepared,  as  a  good  soldier,  to  follow  his  leader  with 
no  hesitating  or  faltering  step. 

He  was  twenty-one  years  of  age  when  he  made  a  public  pro- 
fession of  his  faith  in  Christ.  He  became  at  once  an  active, 
zealous  member  of  the  church,  and  an  earnest  Sabbath  school 
teacher. 

It  was  in  a  Sabbath  school  that  he  made  his  first  public 
prayer.  His  father  was  an  elder  for  many  years  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  of  which  Dr.  Samuel  Hanna  (father  of  Dr. 
Wm.  Hanna)  was  pastor.  "The  Presbyterian  Church,  at  this 
time,"  he  writes,  ''was  sadly  degenerated,  both  in  doctrine  and 
discipline,  and  the  erection  of  an  independent  church  on  prin- 
ciples of  Evangelical  purity,  was  received  with  favor.  In  this 
church  I  was  brought  up." 

He  was  now  prepared  and  graciously  inclined  to  fulfil  the 
desire  cherished  from  childhood  and  devote  himself,  v;ith  all 
his  talents  and  acquisitions  to  the  sacred  calling  to  which  his 
pious  mother  had  consecrated  him.  He  prosecuted  his  theo- 
logical studies  at  Highbury  College,  in  London.  Here,  to  quote 
his  own  emphatic  language,  his  "appetite  for  books  became 
rapacious,"  to  procure  which  he  would  undergo  the  most  pain- 
ful self-denials,  sacrificing  his  comfort,  in  the  severest  incle- 


758  IN  MEMORIAM. 

mency  of  winter,  bartering  his  very  food  and  fuel  for  his 
coveted  treasures. 

In  addition  to  his  theological  studies,  he  attended  a  course 
of  scientific  lectures  in  London,  "read  the  higher  classics,  and 
roamed  at  will  through  the  tomes  of  learned  antiquity."  But 
his  feeble  constitution  began  to  relax  under  the  constant,  unre- 
mitting strain  of  exhausting  study.  He  believed  that  he  was 
sinking  into  a  rapid  decline.  He  afterwards  wrote,  however, 
that  it  was  probably  "no  more  than  the  exhaustion  resulting 
to  a  feeble  constitution  from  excessive  habits  of  intense  study, 
and  an  enthusiastic  vehemence  and  endeavor,  which  sought  to 
read  everything,  study  everything,  and  accomplish  at  all  haz- 
ards what  I  determined  to  undertake." 

All  the  bright  hopes  he  had  cherished  of  entering  the  Gospel 
ministry  seemed  suddenly  to  wither,  with  all  their  summer 
bloom,  in  the  wintry  atmosphere  of  disappointment.  At  this 
painful  crisis  his  parents  were  preparing  to  remove  to  America, 
where  the  most  of  their  children  were  already  settled.  Com- 
pelled to  relinquish  his  studies,  he  was  the  more  readily  per- 
suaded to  quit  his  native  land,  and  follow  the  guiding  hand  of 
Providence  across  the  seas  to  the  shores  of  the  New  World. 
This  was  his  second  lesson  of  discipline  in  the  school  of  adver- 
sity. The  shadow  of  the  cross  fell  darkly  upon  him  as  he 
bowed  his  lofty,  ambitious  spirit  under  this  crushing  trial  and 
calmly  submitted  to  the  sovereign  will  of  the  Father. 

He  embarked  with  his  parents  for  New  York  in  August, 
1830.  Immediately  upon  his  arrival  he  joined  his  eldest  brother 
in  Patterson,  N.  J. 

He  connected  himself  with  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
which  Dr.  Fisher  was  pastor,  and  by  whom  he  was  introduced 
to  the  Newark  Presbytery.  Being  taken  under  their  care  as  a 
candidate  for  the  ministry,  he  was  sent  by  them  to  Princeton 
Seminary.  He  entered  the  senior  class,  and  before  graduating 
received  an  invitation  to  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Charleston,  S.  C.  This  church  having  applied  to  Princeton  for 
a  young  man  to  supply  their  vacant  pulpit,  the  letter  was  placed 
in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Smyth,  and  with  the  advice  of  and  earnest 
solicitation  of  his  professors.  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander  and  Dr. 
Samuel  Miller,  the  invitation  was  accepted,  and  in  November, 


IN  MEMORIAM.  759 

1831,  he  entered  upon  his  ministerial  labors  in  Charleston,  S.  C. 

During  his  seminary  year  at  Princeton  he  supplied,  for  about 
two  months,  the  pulpit  of  Dr.  Phillips,  of  New  York,  whose 
church  building  was  then  located  on  Wall  Street,  now  a  part  of 
Jersey  City.  With  this  exception,  we  may  say  that  the  long 
and  useful  ministry  of  Dr.  Smyth  began  and  ended  with  the 
favored  people  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Charles- 
ton. 

Preaching  with  great  acceptance  for  six  months,  he  received 
a  formal  call  to  become  your  pastor,  which  he  gave  the  prefer- 
ence over  several  other  calls  from  important  fields.  To  use  his 
own  words:  "I  came  here  a  perfect  stranger,  my  only  intro- 
duction being  a  letter  from  my  professors  to  the  president  of 
the  Church  Corporation,  certifying  that  I  was  the  individual 
recommended  by  them."  In  one  of  his  anniversary  sermons  he 
says:  "It  was  in  April,  1832,  that  we  first  became  acquainted 
as  minister  and  people.  Very  wonderful  were  the  leadings  of 
Providence,  by  which  I  was  brought  to  this  country,  and  to 
this  part  of  it,  and  by  which  you  were  led  to  extend  to  me  an 
invitation  to  supply  your  pulpit  for  a  year.  In  August,  1832, 
you  presented  to  me  a  permanent  call  to  the  pastoral  charge 
of  this  church.  This,  in  pursuance  of  a  long-established  con- 
viction that  to  the  happiness  of  such  a  connection,  intimate 
acquaintance  with  each  other  is  required.  I  long  retained,  and 
left  open  to  any  change  in  your  views.  Having  rendered  this 
building  everything  I  could  desire,  and  proportioned  it  to  my 
feebleness  of  body,  I  cordially  accepted  your  unanimous  call, 
and  was  installed  by  the  Charleston  Union  Presbytery,  on  Sab- 
bath evening,  December  29th,  1834." 

In  1832  he  was  married  to  the  eldest  daughter  of  Mr.  James 
Adger,  of  Charleston,  S.  C.  By  this  union  he  had  nine  chil- 
dren, six  of  whom — three  sons  and  three  daughters — survive 
him.  The  bonds  of  this  happy  alliance  were  sundered  after  a 
lapse  of  forty  years,  by  his  decease ;  but  not  until  after  he  had 
enjoyed  the  unspeakable  satisfaction  of  seeing  his  whole  family 
bound  together  by  those  higher  and  holier  ties  that  can  never 
be  broken,  of  seeing  all  his  children  consecrating  themselves 
to  Christ,  under  his  own  ministry,  and  becoming  active  and 
useful  members  of  his  own  church,  two  of  the  eldest  sons 


760  IN  MEMORIAM. 

occupying  official  positions — the  one,  a  ruling  elder ;  the  other, 
a  deacon. 

We  interrupt  our  narrative  at  this  point,  as  the  thread  of 
biography  is  so  interwoven  with  his  public  life,  that  to  consider 
each  separately  would  do  violence  to  both,  and  involve  needless 
repetition. 

As  the  ministry  was  his  chosen  vocation,  to  which  his  life 
and  talents  were  supremely  devoted,  it  will  be  proper,  in  ana- 
lyzing his  powers,  and  estimating  his  influence  upon  the  genera- 
tion he  served,  to  contemplate  him,  in  the  first  place,  as  an 
ambassador  of  Christ,  in  his  ministerial  and  pastoral  labors. 

Dr.  Smyth  was  in  an  eminent  degree  furnished  by  nature 
and  mental  training  with  those  qualities  which  render  the 
ministry  brilliant  and  successful.  His  erect  attitude,  lofty 
carriage,  and  dignified  bearing,  imparted  to  his  person  a  pre- 
possessing appearance,  which  at  once  attracted  and  challenged 
attention,  and  made  the  impression  upon  his  audience  that 
they  were  in  the  presence  of  a  princely  orator,  in  whom  intelli- 
gence, manliness,  self-reliance  and  courage  were  already  fore- 
shadowing the  surpassing  eloquence  that  was  about  to  flow 
from  his  lips.  To  borrow  the  elegant  language  of  one  who 
knew  him  thoroughly :  "Nature  designed  him  to  be  an  orator, 
and  endowed  him  splendidly  for  that  office.  But  'coveting 
earnestly'  what  appeared  to  him  'the  best  gift,'  he  always 
seemed  to  aspire  to  speak  to  future  generations,  rather  than  to 
the  present ;  preferring  to  the  triumphs  of  an  almost  matchless 
eloquence,  the  toils  and  pains  of  authorship."  Though  trained 
in  the  highest  school  of  eloquence,  his  oratory  was  not  of  a 
professional  or  mechanical  type.  He  had  learned  to  modulate 
his  tones  to  suit  every  variation  of  feeling,  but  without  the 
stiffness  and  formality,  which  so  often  attend  a  carefully  cul- 
tivated articulation.  This  dry  precision  was,  indeed,  impossible 
to  one  of  such  fervid  imagination  and  genial  sympathies. 

Dr.  Smyth  was  gifted  with  a  vigorous  and  brilliant  imagina- 
tion, a  quick,  poetic  sensibility.  An  ardent  admirer,  and  a 
devoted  lover  of  nature,  he  had  a  keen  perception  of  the  beau- 
tiful, the  grand,  the  picturesque,  in  all  her  varying  aspects.  It 
has  excited  our  wonder  that  he  should  have  found  so  much  in 


IN  MEMORIAM.  761 

our  tame  and  monotonous  scenery  to   feed  and   delight   his 
imagination.    But,  Hke  the  Poet  of  Rydal  Mount,  he  was 

"A  lover  of  the  meadows  and  the  woods, 
And  mountains ;  and  all  that  we  behold 
From  the  green  earth  ;  of  all  the  mighty  world 
Of  eye  and  ear,  both  what  they  half  create 
And  what  perceive :  well  pleased  to  recognize 
In  nature  and  the  language  of  the  sense 
The  anchor  of  his  purest  thoughts,  the  nurse, 
The  guide,  the  guardian  of  his  heart,  and  soul 
Of  all  his  moral  being." 

During  his  vacations,  which  were  usually  spent  amid  the 
picturesque  scenery  of  Virginia,  he  almost  lived  in  communion 
with  nature;  finding  companionship  in  every  flower  and  tree, 
wind  and  wave,  cloud  and  living  creature,  when  cut  off  from 
the  society  of  man. 

He  was  accustomed,  in  his  recreations  from  study,  to  spend 
some  portion  of  every  day  in  rural  meditation,  in  the  suburbs 
of  Charleston;  and,  sometimes,  for  hours,  at  night,  he  sat 
beneath  the  quiet  stars,  looking  out  upon  the  moonlit  sea  and 
listening  to  its  solemn  roar.  Thus,  every  object  of  nature 
became  to  him  a  bosom  friend,  "social  and  benevolent,"  keep- 
ing him  pleasant  company  in  his  solitary  hours,  and  befriend- 
ing him  in  his  afflictions,  when  no  human  heart  could  enter  the 
sanctuary  of  his  grief ;  finding,  too, 

"Like  him  who  Eden's  garden  dressed, 
His  maker  there  to  teach  his  listening  heart." 

His  capacious  memory  thus  became  a  gallery  of  natural 
imagery,  drawn  from  the  various  climes  he  had  visited,  and 
from  the  poets  of  nature  with  whom  he  daily  communed. 
From  this  inexhaustible  storehouse  he  fed  his  exuberant  imagi- 
nation, and  adorned  his  sermons  with  its  riches  and  magnifi- 
cence. His  style  could  not  be  described  as  ornate  or  florid. 
Nothing  was  added  for  the  sake  of  rhetorical  embellishment, 
or  to  round  a  period.  But  such  was  his  marvellous  affluence 
of  diction,  his  thesaurus  of  language,  and  overflowing  fulness 
of  ideas,  that  when  the  fountains  of  the  great  deep  of  his  soul 
were  broken  up,  and  the  windows  of  his  mind,  like  the  bursting 
cisterns  of  the  skies,  were  opened,  his  thoughts  poured  forth 
like  a  deluge.  The  sequacious  waves  followed  one  another 
with  a  tumultuous  rush  and  unabating  flow  that  must  have 


7Q2  IN  MEMORIAM. 

oppressed  and  fatigued  the  hearer,  but  for  the  illuminating 
splendor  of  his  ever-radiant  imagination. 

In  1845  he  attended  the  Synod  of  Indiana,  and  was  invited 
to  preach.  "His  audience,"  says  a  journalist,  "were  so  struck 
with  his  profound  reasoning,  his  fervor  and  energy,  his  entire 
freedom  from  ostentation,  and  his  evident  sincerity,  that  their 
demonstration  of  respect  and  regard  were  enthusiastic.  His 
co-laborers  testified  their  high  gratification  by  purchasing  a 
large  number  of  his  works,  and  requesting  him  to  publish  his 
sermons."  His  discourse  on  the  Lord's  Supper  "was  pro- 
nounced, by  the  clergy  present,  to  be  the  ablest  exposition  of 
the  text,  in  point  of  argument  and  learning,  as  one  of  the  most 
powerful  efforts  they  had  ever  heard  from  the  pulpit." 

Dr.  Smyth  entered  upon  his  work  with  a  lofty  ideal  of  minis- 
terial excellence,  laying  down  carefully  prepared  rules  for  his 
guidance,  and  frequently  reviewing  them  with  a  searching  self- 
examination.  He  considered  it  his  "great  business  to  be  a 
good  and  faithful  preacher,  and  his  most  necessary  duty,  to  fit 
him  for  this  work,  to  be  a  systematic,  persevering  student." 
He  projected  for  himself,  at  the  outset,  a  regular  progressive 
course  of  reading;  and  that  the  cultivation  of  the  imagination 
might  keep  pace  with  his  intellectual  development,  he  always 
had  on  his  table  some  standard  book  of  poetry,  and  endeavored 
to  cultivate  a  taste  for  general  literature.  To  keep  himself 
from  "solicitude  and  possible  disappointment;  to  gain  a  self- 
command  and  independence  equal  to  any  emergency,"  he  kept 
on  hand  a  stock  of  prepared  sermons  and  skeletons.  Hence  he 
was  never  embarrassed  when  called  upon  suddenly  and  unex- 
pectedly. This  habit  explains,  too,  in  part,  the  wonderful  fer- 
tiUty  of  his  ideas,  the  copiousness  and  fluency  of  his  language, 
and  his  cool  self-possession.  It  could  hardly  be  said  of  him 
that  he  ever  spoke  without  premeditation;  for  upon  what  sub- 
ject did  he  not  profoundly  meditate,  with  the  aid  of  the  best 
authors,  and  with  a  marvellously  retentive  memory,  that  was 
a  magazine  of  knowledge,  always  full,  always  fresh,  and 
always  at  his  command.  His  extemporaneous  addresses  often 
exhibited  the  fulness  of  matter  and  excellence  of  style  which 
characterized  his  most  careful  preparations. 


IN  MICMORIAM.  763 

During  the  greater  part  of  his  ministry  his  sermons  were 
elaborately  composed,  and  preached  from  the  written  manu- 
script. This  greatly  interfered  with  his  natural  flow  of  elo- 
quence, and  robbed  his  pulpit  of  much  of  that  efficiency  which 
comes  from  the  unction  of  extemporaneous  delivery.  But  he 
regarded  the  sacrifice  as  essential  to  carry  out  his  ideal  of 
pulpit  instruction.  "It  is  easier,"  he  said,  "to  talk  and  visit  and 
hunt  for  popularity  than  to  dig  deep  in  the  mine  of  a  thorough 
and  careful  research,  and  thus  bring  'beaten  oil'  into  the  sanc- 
tuary, by  which  our  profiting  may,  ultimately,  if  not  imme- 
diately, appear  to  all." 

It  was  one  of  his  rules,  that  he  would  aim  to  indoctrinate 
his  people  by  regular  courses  of  sermons,  expounding  the 
whole  evangelical  system,  and  "confirming  them  in  their  attach- 
ment to  the  faith  and  order  of  their  own  church." 

Dr.  Smyth  was  a  thorough-going  preacher  of  the  old  school. 
The  gospel  trumpet  in  his  mouth  uttered  no  uncertain  sound. 
The  cup  of  salvation  in  his  hands  was  not  corrupted  by  the 
"wine  of  Sodom,"  and  the  "grapes  of  Gomorrah."  The  basis 
of  all  his  preaching  was  a  sound  theology  of  a  thoroughly  Cal- 
vinistic  type.  He  was  a  deep  student  of  divinity,  and  drank 
to  the  bottom  of  the  original  fountains.  Augustine,  Turretine, 
Calvin,  Howe,  Owen,  Chamock  and  Edwards  were  the  giants 
in  whose  company  he  "wrestled  against  the  principalities  and 
power"  of  error,  until  he  grew  muscular  in  the  strife.  He 
bravely  resisted  the  clamor  for  popular  effusions,  and  sensa- 
tional preaching.  He  dared  to  "declare  the  whole  counsel  of 
God,"  in  precise,  categorical,  dogmatic  statement,  in  profound 
doctrinal  discussion,  and  in  the  systematic  elucidation  of  every 
article  of  the  Christian  faith.  Dr.  Smyth  was  a  standard- 
bearer.  He  was  not  ashamed  of  his  confession  of  faith  and 
church  catechism,  or  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  of  Divines. 
He  labored  earnestly  to  make  his  people  familiar  with  those 
distinctive  doctrines,  which  during  the  ages  of  theological  con- 
troversy, and  the  fires  of  persecution,  crystallized  into  the 
grand,  clear,  concise  formulas  which  seemed  to  him  to  embody 
the  whole  "truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,"  so  far  as  human  generaliza- 
tion can  grasp  a  supernatural  revelation  in  its  imperfect  deduc- 
tions, and  which  seemed  to  be  settled  for  all  time.     No  one 


764  IN  MEMORIAM. 

ever  toiled  more  faithfully  and  untiringly  to  transmit  this 
precious  inheritance  to  coming  generations. 

He  believed  that  the  most  rational  and  effective  method  of 
preserving  sound  doctrine  was  "by  bringing  himself  and  his 
people  to  relish  the  true  and  ancient  scriptural  and  most  profit- 
able custom  of  expository  preaching."  His  memoranda  of 
texts  and  subjects  shows  how  fully  he  carried  out  this  method, 
in  expounding  all  the  parables  and  miracles;  the  life,  person, 
and  work  of  Christ;  all  the  Psalms,  and  most  of  the  Epistles, 
particularly  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  In  commendation  of 
this  mode  of  preaching,  he  said:  "From  all  that  I  have  been 
able  to  learn,  it  would  be  the  general  testimony  of  my  people, 
that  there  has  been  more  interest,  profit  and  satisfaction,  in  my 
expository  discourses,  which  I  delivered  extemporaneously, 
from  the  use  only  of  a  skeleton,  than  in  my  written  discourses, 
upon  which  I  expended  all  my  energies." 

We  should  mention,  in  this  connection,  as  one  of  Dr.  Smyth's 
distinguishing  characteristics,  that  he  was  a  controversial 
preacher.  He  was  a  bold  and  skillful  defender,  as  well  as  an 
able  and  successful  expounder  of  the  truth.  While  he  "held 
fast  the  form  of  sound  words,"  he  "contended  earnestly  for 
the  faith,"  which  he  believed  had  "once  been  delivered  to  the 
saints."  He  was  born  a  soldier.  Like  Cyrus,  he  was  girded 
from  his  birth,  with  a  martial  spirit,  and  through  a  discipline 
of  suffering,  that  gave  him  a  deep,  experimental  acquaintance 
with  the  truth,  he  was  qualified  to  "endure  hardness  as  a  good 
soldier"  of  the  cross.  He  would  have  been  a  terrible  foe,  had 
he  espoused  the  cause  of  error,  and  brought  all  his  talent, 
learning  and  courage  into  the  field  against,  instead  of  for  the 
Christian  faith.  But  grace  had  laid  her  hand  upon  him  at  his 
birth,  and  caused  him  to  be  a  leader  and  a  champion  in  the 
cause  of  truth.  He  was  armed  by  nature  and  by  grace  with 
the  weapons  of  warfare,  and  providentially  furnished  with  an 
inexhaustible  armory,  from  which  he  could  draw  in  any  emer- 
gency. He  was  never  caught  without  his  arms  and  ammuni- 
tion, or  sleeping  on  his  panoply.  The  first  tocsin  of  war 
aroused  him,  and  he  was  ready  to  attack  or  defend,  to  meet  the 
enemy  in  the  open  field,  or  dislodge  him  from  his  secret 
ambush. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  765 

If,  therefore,  his  earlier  ministrations  were  pervaded  by  a 
controversial  and  polemical  spirit,  it  was  because  he  believed 
the  age  demanded  Christian  warriors  to  defend  the  evangelical 
system,  especially  in  its  Presbyterian  form,  from  the  bold 
assaults  of  infidelity,  the  perversions  of  its  professed  friends, 
and  the  arrogant  assumptions  of  false  pretenders.  And  if  the 
times  made  it  necessary  to  lift  the  voice  of  stern  remonstrance 
and  earnest  protest  against  the  invasions  of  falsehood  and 
heresy,  who  should  obey  the  summons,  but  they  whom  the 
Master  has  qualified  to  lead  on  the  sacramental  host  to  victory  ? 
Who,  but  our  military  heroes  who  have  the  strength  to  wield 
the  "sword  of  the  Spirit,"  courage  to  mount  the  batteries  of 
the  enemy,  sagacity  to  interpret  his  most  subtle  manoeuverings, 
and  generalship  to  take  command  of  the  whole  field.  This 
intrepid  and  valiant  defender  of  the  faith  felt  that  he  was  only 
following  the  cloudy  pillar  that  went  before  him,  and  obeying 
the  divine  voice  that  articulately  summoned  him  to  "Go  for- 
ward!" when  the  camp  of  Israel  were  generally  faltering  in 
the  presence  of  the  mountains  and  the  sea,  and  the  advancing 
hosts  of  the  enemy.  He  certainly  was  instrumental  in  doing 
a  work,  which  would  not  have  been  done  by  others;  either, 
because  constitutionally  averse  to  warfare ;  or,  too  timid  and 
self-distrustful  to  grapple  with  a  dangerous  and  formidable 
foe ;  or,  too  indifferent  to  theological  doctrine,  to  appreciate 
the  importance  and  sublimity  of  the  contest ;  or,  too  indolent 
in  their  temperament  to  contend  for  truth  at  all. 

But  the  crowning  excellence  of  this  illustrious  preacher,  the 
chief  inspiration  of  his  eloquent  discourses,  which  charmed 
away  the  weariness,  that  his  extreme  prolixity  would  otherwise 
have  occasioned,  was  his  absorbing  love  to  the  Saviour.  The 
tongue  of  the  preacher  was  kindled  with  a  live  coal  from  the 
altar  of  Calvary.  His  discourses  abounded  with  doctrinal  dis- 
cussion. They  were  often  controversial,  as  well  as  argumenta- 
tive. They  were  sometimes  scholastic,  replete  with  erudition, 
laying  a  severe  tax  upon  the  understanding  of  the  hearer;  and 
yet  his  lecture  room  was  crowded,  overflowing,  with  interested 
and  enthusiastic  audiences,  to  listen  to  an  hour's  discussion  of 
the  principles  of  Presbyterianism.  It  was  not  the  intellect 
that  towered  like  a  mountain,  nor  the  imagination,  that  shone 


766  IN  MEMORIAM. 

like  the  sun,  but  the  heart,  that  heaved  like  the  ocean  with  the 
love  of  Jesus — that  caught  the  sympathy  of  his  hearers,  and 
bore  them  away  upon  its  rolling  waves.  Christ,  and  his  cross, 
were  all  his  theme.  He  presented  the  doctrine,  as  the  mirror 
of  Christ,  and  the  creed  as  a  breakwater,  to  roll  back  the  tide 
of  error,  that  would,  if  unchecked,  sweep  away  the  cross,  and 
its  sacrificial  victim.  He  preached  Presbyterianism,  because 
he  believed  that  no  other  polity  preserved  in  its  integrity,  the 
Calvinistic  system,  and  no  other  system  does  full  honor  to 
"Christ  and  Him  crucified."  The  cross,  he  viewed,  primarily, 
as  a  manifestation  of  love,  rather  than  justice — love,  sur- 
mounting the  obstacles  of  law  and  justice.  We  have  heard 
him  remark,  in  substance,  that  justice  should  form  the  dark 
background,  and  love,  the  bright  foreground  of  Gospel  preach- 
ing; that  Sinai  should  stand  behind  Calvary,  and,  at  least,  so 
far  away,  that  the  thunders  of  the  law  shall  not  drown  the 
accents  of  mercy.  He  never  left  the  guilty,  condemned  sinner, 
at  the  bar  of  judgment,  or  on  the  brink  of  hell;  but  always  at 
the  foot  of  the  cross,  or  at  the  household  door,  within  the  sound 
of  the  Saviour's  inviting  voice,  and  the  Father's  extended  arms 
of  love  and  mercy.  He  could  not  preach,  without  pleading 
with  sinners.  He  could  not  reason  and  argue,  without  pouring 
out  his  heart  in  the  most  tender  and  melting  expostulations. 
His  great,  generous,  benevolent  heart  was  strung  with  the 
chords  of  love,  like  an  /Eolian  harp,  that  responds  to  the  gen- 
tlest breath  that  passes  over  it ;  so  that,  whatever  theme  he 
touched,  his  heart  could  be  seen  vibrating  with  the  love  of 
Jesus,  in  the  moistened  eye,  the  trembling  utterance,  the  tender 
manner,  and  in  language,  in  which  all  the  synonyms  of  love 
seemed  to  flow  as  naturally  as  waters  gush  from  a  fountain. 
"Our  pulpits,"  he  said,  "may  glitter  with  the  beauties  of  learn- 
ing and  eloquence  and  orthodoxy,  but  if  these  be  not  warmed 
with  love,  universal  love,  the  brilliancy  will  prove  like  the 
glitter  of  that  region,  where  all  is  chill  and  dead." 

Another  element  of  the  success  of  his  preaching,  was  its 
remarkable  appropriateness,  its  studied  adaptation  to  the  times 
in  which  he  lived,  and  to  the  immediate  wants  of  his  people. 
No  public  event,  from  which  he  could  draw  a  useful  lesson, 
escaped  his  notice.    The  startling  providences  of  God  he  used, 


IN  MEMORIAM.  767 

with  great  power,  as  interpreters  of  the  divine  word,  and 
emphasizing  its  teachings.  No  spiritual  want  of  any  member 
of  his  congregation  was  overlooked.  He  would  preach  a  series 
of  discourses  to  relieve  a  single  anxious  soul  of  doubt  or  dis- 
tress. He  would  lay  aside  his  laborious  preparations  for  the 
Sabbath,  near  the  close  of  the  week,  to  adapt  his  preaching  to 
any  sudden  change  of  circumstances  of  a  public,  domestic,  or 
personal  character. 

But  we  cannot  leave  the  consideration  of  his  labors  as  a 
preacher,  without  adverting  to  his  zeal  in  the  cause  of  Mis- 
sions* H  the  love  of  Jesus  was  his  crowning  excellence,  his 
missionary  spirit  was  the  crowning  form  of  this  excellence.  If 
the  former  furnished  the  material,  the  latter  determined  the 
position  and  shape  of  the  crown.  No  theme  so  absorbed  his 
large,  expansive  heart,  or  developed  and  exalted  the  mighty 
forces  of  his  intellect,  as  that  of  Missions.  The  most  exalted 
title  than  can  be  applied  to  Christians,  in  his  estimation,  is 
"Christ's  representatives  and  agents  for  the  conversion  of  the 
world ;"  the  most  essential  element  of  "Christian  character  and 
happiness,  self-denying  love  and  liberality."  "The  Gospel,"  he 
remarked,  in  his  eloquent  discourse  upon  the  above  theme, 
"is  the  expression  of  God's  love,  and  the  believer  is  a  man, 
who,  filled  with  Heaven's  emanating  kindness,  becomes,  in 
turn,  a  living  Gospel."  When  a  student  of  Highbury  College, 
pursuing  his  theological  studies,  he  was  expecting  to  enter  the 
missionary  field,  under  the  auspices  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society,  but  was  disappointed  by  the  failure  of  his  health,  and 
removal  to  this  country.  Resuming  his  studies  at  Princeton, 
N.  J.,  he  was  on  the  point  of  making  a  missionary  tour  to 
Florida,  in  company  with  some  fellow- student,  when  he 
received  an  invitation  to  supply  your  vacant  pulpit.  He  seemed 
to  have  dedicated  himself  to  this  great  work,  and  probably 
nothing  but  ill  health  would  have  deterred  him  from  planting 
the  standard  of  the  cross  on  heathen  shores.  He  was,  for  many 
years,  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Missions,  in  the 
Synod  of  South  Carolina,  and,  doubtless  exerted  a  more  direct 
and  extensive  influence  in  awakening  arl  diffusing  a  mission- 
ary spirit  than  any  other  minister  in  our  church.     No  one 

*See  Appendix,  p.  800,  I. 


768  IN  me;moriam. 

preached  so  much,  and  wrote  so  much  on  the  subject  of  mis- 
sions. It  was  during  his  able  and  zealous  discharge  of  the 
duties  of  this  office,  that  he  prepared  those  soul-stirring  mis- 
sionary discourses,  entitled :  "The  Conversion  of  the  World;" 
"Faith,  the  Principle  of  Missions,"  and  "Obedience,  the  Life 
of  Missions ;"'\  which  were  preached  before  the  Synod,  and 
published  by  their  order.  We  know  of  no  pastor  who  did  so 
much  to  infuse  his  own  burning  enthusiasm  into  the  hearts  of 
his  people.  His  missionary  lectures  were  among  his  most 
elaborate  preparations.  Every  means  was  exhausted  to  make 
the  monthly  concert  for  missions  an  interesting  and  profitable 
exercise. 

He  preached  and  published  several  earnest  discourses  on 
"Juvenile  Missionary  Bffort."X  He  regarded  it  "as  one  of  the 
most  hopeful  signs  of  the  time — the  attention  paid  to  children, 
and  the  increasing  efforts  made  to  educate  them  in  a  mission- 
ary spirit,  and  for  missionary  effort."  He  argued  that,  as  a 
missionary  spirit  is  the  most  essential  characteristic  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  as  baptized  children  are  members  of  the  visible 
Church,  and  ought  to  be  educated  as  christians ;  therefore, 
they  should  be  taught  to  pray,  to  give,  and  labor,  in  their 
humble  way,  for  the  cause  of  missions. 

As  early  as  1832,  he  organized  a  Juvenile  Missionary  Society 
in  connection  with  his  church,  which  was  held  quarterly;  and 
in  the  same  year  he  commenced  the  publication  of  a  Juvenile 
Missionary  Paper.  His  missionary  zeal  burned  on  a  brighter, 
warmer  flame,  as  the  smoking  flax  of  life  sunk  into  its  socket. 
Always  present,  at  the  monthly  concert,  in  the  most  inclement 
weather,  his  stammering  tongue  glowed  with  the  eloquence  of 
former  years,  when  he  poured  out  his  heart  in  prayer  or  plead 
for  a  perishing  world,  and  for  the  glory  of  the  Redeemer.  He 
was  accustomed  to  say  that  the  monthly  "Missionary"  pos- 
sessed, for  him,  the  interest  of  a  novel  or  romance,  and  that 
he  felt  reluctant  to  lay  it  down  until  he  had  read  the  last  page. 
We  here  discover  the  secret  of  this  man's  greatness,  energy  and 
self-sacrificing  devotion  in  every  department  of  christian 
labor — the  reflex  influence  of  his  missionary  spirit.     His  mind 

tSee  Appendix,  p.  800,  II. 
tSee  Appendix,  p.  800,  III. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  769 

and  heart  were  in  living,  active,  unceasing  sympathy  v^ith  a  lost 
world,  with  its  teeming  populations,  and  unborn  millions ;  with 
the  eternal  purpose  of  God,  that  "all  flesh  shall  see"  the  Great 
Salvation;  with  all  the  glowing  predictions  of  the  Hebrew 
Prophet ;  with  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  Messiah ;  with  the 
suffering  Son  of  God  in  the  travail  of  His  soul ;  with  the  great 
cloud  of  witnesses,  who,  through  faith  and  obedience  have 
inherited  the  promises;  with  the  sacrifice  and  self-denial  of 
missionaries  of  the  Cross,  and  all  "Christ's  martyred  clan;" 
and  with  the  dawning  millenium,  when  the  sun  of  Righteous- 
ness shall  flood  the  hemispheres  with  his  life-giving  beams,  and 
the  whole  world  shall  be  given  to  Christ. 

The  soul  that  lives  amid  these  grand  and  sublime  realities, 
whose  faith  gives  them  a  present  subsistence,  whose  love 
expands  until  it  circumscribes  the  globe — such  a  soul  must 
grow  great.  It  feeds  upon  the  elements  of  greatness,  and 
wherever  its  energies  are  expended,  at  home  or  abroad,  in  the 
lecture  room,  in  the  sanctuary,  on  the  platform,  or  in  the  delib- 
erative assembly,  they  will  exhibit  something  of  the  grandeur 
and  sublimity  of  the  missionary  theme.  It  was  this  spirit 
which  gave  Dr.  Smyth  the  reputation  he  so  generally  and 
deservedly  bore,  of  being  a  "working  pastor  of  a  working 
church." 

Passing  from  the  pulpit  to  his  household  ministrations,  we 
follow  him  to  the  homes  of  his  people,  and  we  are  as  much 
impressed  with  the  fidelity  and  tenderness  of  the  pastor,  as 
with  the  ability  and  power  of  the  preacher.  He  regarded  his 
church  as  a  family,  and  watched  over  it  with  a  paternal  care 
and  solicitude.  This  great  and  good  shepherd  knew  all  his 
flock,  and  could  call  them  all  by  name ;  and  he  entered,  by  a  per- 
sonal and  heartfelt  sympathy,  into  all  their  temporal  and 
spiritual  trials.  He  was,  as  a  pastor,  no  respecter  of  persons, 
and  showed  no  partiality  save  that  which  is  imperatively 
demanded  by  the  poor,  the  lowly,  and  the  ignorant  of  his  flock. 
He  wrote,  in  his  diary,  at  the  beginning  of  his  ministry,  that  he 
"determined  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  pastoral  office  with- 
out fear  or  favor  of  any  individual  or  family,  excepting  as 
capacity  and  character  justly  demanded  special  consideration." 

49— Vol.  X. 


770  IN  MEMORIAM. 

He  was  a  frequent  visitor  to  the  lowly  dwellings  of  the  poor, 
and  many  a  desolate  home  was  gladdened  by  his  soothing  and 
healing  charities,  to  use  their  own  language,  "as  by  the  visits 
of  an  angel."  The  touching  and  eloquent  tribute  of  Dr.  Chal- 
mers to  the  pastoral  fidelity  of  Andrew  Thompson  might  be 
quoted  here,  and  applied  in  all  the  fulness  of  its  meaning  to 
the  subject  of  this  memoir:  "As  at  the  base  of  some  lofty 
precipice,  a  spot  of  verdure,  or  a  peaceful  cottage  home  seems 
to  smile  in  more  intense  loveliness  because  of  the  towering 
strength  and  magnificence  behind  it ;  so  the  man  of  strength 
shows  himself  the  man  of  tenderness,  and,  sturdy  and  impreg- 
nable in  every  righteous  cause  he  makes  his  graceful  descent 
to  the  ordinary  companionships  of  life,  and  mingles,  with  kin- 
dred warmth,  in  all  the  cares  and  sympathies  of  his  fellow- 
men." 

It  was  in  the  family  circle  that  he  exhibited  that  rare  gift 
of  prayer,  which  was  at  once  an  opulent  endowment  of  nature 
and  of  grace.  Naturally  of  a  devotional  turn  of  mind,  all  the 
resources  of  his  intellect  and  heart,  all  the  affluent  treasures 
of  his  knowledge,  and  all  the  precious  riches  of  his  religious 
experience,  varied  and  amplified  by  peculiar  sufferings  and 
trials ;  all  were  baptized  by  the  spirit  of  prayer,  and  poured 
out  in  the  channels  of  supplication,  both  in  the  pulpit  and  in 
the  household;  and  in  both,  alike,  did  he  seem  to  identify  him- 
self with  his  people,  and  make  their  manifold  experience  his 
own.  Everything  wth  him  seemed  to  crystallize  into  prayer. 
Every  vicissitude  of  the  weather,  and  every  changing  aspect  of 
the  times ;  the  smallest  as  well  as  the  greatest  events,  furnished 
him  with  material  for  devotion,  and  imparted  an  endless 
variety,  an  inexhaustible  copiousness,  and  an  exceeding  rich- 
ness to  his  prayers. 

His  extraordinary  conversational  powers  and  social  qualities 
eminently  fitted  him  for  pastoral  usefulness.  With  all  his 
absorbing  love  of  study,  his  sympathies  took  a  deeper  hold 
upon  men  than  upon  books,  and  nothing  gave  him  more  genuine 
delight  and  satisfaction  than  to  communicate  the  treasures  of 
his  learning  to  the  humblest  listener.  It  was  here,  also,  that 
his  ready  wit,  and  genial  humor  found  an  easy,  and  a  happy 
vent,   in   interesting  and   instructive  anecdotes,   and  personal 


IN  MEMORIAM.  771 

reminiscences,  of  which  he  had  gathered  a  vast  store,  in  his 
extensive  reading  and  foreign  travels. 

His  genial  and  exuberant  nature  overflowed  on  all  occasions, 
even  when  greatly  depressed,  and  tortured  with  pain.  He  was 
often  most  companionable  and  entertaining  when  his  sufferings 
were  greatest.  Nor  did  he  ever  regard  his  bodily  infirmities 
and  weaknesses  as  an  excuse  for  pastoral  inactivity,  but 
seemed  to  forget  his  own  sorrow  in  bearing  the  burdens  of 
others. 

It  was  another  of  his  rules  that  pastoral  visitation  should 
be  performed  as  regularly  and  systematically  as  was  consistent 
wuth  his  pulpit  preparations,  which  he  always  considered  as  of 
the  first  importance.  Nothing  in  his  estimation  could  com- 
pensate for  a  poorly  prepared  sermon.  "I  have  always  consid- 
ered preaching,"  he  said,  "and  what  is  necessary  to  a  right 
preparation  for  preaching,  as  prior  in  its  claims  upon  my  time 
and  attention,  to  visiting,  or  any  other  duty."  Later  in  life, 
however,  he  confessed  that  he  had  erred  somewhat  in  regard  to 
the  comparative  results  of  pulpit  and  pastoral  labor,  and  that 
he  had  possibly  unduly  exalted  the  former.  But,  whatever 
may  have  been  his  views  of  pastoral  duty,  its  apparent  neglect, 
in  the  earlier  part  of  his  ministry,  finds  its  vindication  in  the 
claims  of  authorship,  which  at  that  period,  were  urged  upon  his 
conscience  with  a  force  that  he  could  not  resist. 

As  a  pastor,  he  embraced  with  avidity  every  opportunity  to 
press  the  claims  of  Christ  upon  every  individual  of  his  congre- 
gation. H  he  erred  here,  it  was  an  error  of  the  judgment,  not 
of  the  heart,  which  under  the  restraining  influence  of  love  of 
Jesus,  and  love  to  the  souls  of  men,  led  him,  like  Paul,  "to  warn 
men  day  and  night,  and  with  tears."  A  burning  zeal  for  the 
salvation  of  souls  may  betray  a  minister  into  injudicious  and 
unreasonable  appeals,  but,  in  the  day  of  judgment,  God's  faith- 
ful servants  will  have  occasion  to  rejoice  that  they  are  free 
from  the  blood  of  all  men,  and  that  imprudent  measures  were 
better  than  lukewarm  indifference,  or  cold-hearted  neglect. 

Both  as  a  preacher,  and  as  a  pastor,  Dr.  Smyth  ever  felt  and 
manifested  a  deep  and  affectionate  interest  in  the  colored  peo- 
ple, who  filled  the  gallery  of  his  church,  and  largely  composed 
his  membership.     He  prepared  his  sermons  with  reference  to 


772  IN  MEMORIAM. 

their  instruction,  held  a  special  service  for  them  during  the 
week,  and  as  a  pastor,  kindly  ministered  to  their  spiritual 
wants,  and  bore  to  their  humble  homes  the  cup  of  consolation 
in  seasons  of  sickness  and  affliction.  He  was  a  warm  sup- 
porter of  the  Zion  Colored  Church,  in  Calhoun  street,  Charles- 
ton, which  at  its  inception  was  chiefly  composed  of  members 
of  his  own  church.  He  spoke  of  it  as  "a  noble  and  glorious 
enterprise  in  which  he  heartily  rejoiced."  The  crowd  of  col- 
ored people  who  attended  his  funeral  attested  their  continued 
and  unabated  love  for  him.  One  aged  woman,  as  his  coffin 
was  borne  into  the  church,  exclaimed,  with  streaming  eyes  and 
choked  utterance  :    "Go  to  Jesus,  faithful  preacher !" 

But  our  portraiture  of  the  pastor  would  be  incomplete,  were 
we  to  omit  his  tender,  passionate  fondness  for  the  children  of 
his  congregation,  and  his  zealous  interest  in  their  welfare.  He 
enjoyed,  with  a  keen  relish,  the  sports  of  childhood  around  his 
own  fireside,  and  heartily  participated  in  their  juvenile  merri- 
ment. He  gathered  the  children  around  him,  in  his  visits  from 
house  to  house,  and  by  his  gentle  and  affable  familiarity,  won 
their  hearts.  Their  names  were  all  engraven  on  his  heart,  as 
well  as  his  memory,  and  they  knew  it.  No  one  was,  to  these 
little  ones,  a  more  welcome  guest  at  the  family  fireside.  They 
ran  to  meet  him,  at  the  open  door,  and  followed  him,  regret- 
fully, as  he  took  his  departure. 

His  frequent  presence  at  the  Sabbath  school  excited  their 
eager  and  delighted  attention.  He  always  remembeied  the 
lambs  of  his  flock  in  his  study,  and  was  constantly  collecting 
materials  from  every  source,  that  he  might  be  ever  prepared 
to  interest  them  in  the  Sabbath  school,  and  on  anniversary 
occasions,  with  appropriate  and  pleasing  addresses.  The  pain- 
ful sacrifices  which  he  made  to  attend  the  last  annual  festival, 
and  the  evident  delight  with  which  he  entered  into  their  youth- 
ful pleasures,  will  never  be  forgotten  by  the  children.  It  will 
linger  in  their  memories,  as  they  advance  in  years,  as  one  of 
the  last  affecting  tokens  of  their  aged  and  infirm  pastor  to  the 
dear  lambs  of  his  fold. 

The  affection  which  he  felt  for  the  children  of  his  own 
church  was  shared,  in  all  its  depth  and  tenderness,  by  the  chil- 
dren of  the  Orphan  House.     He  always  delighted  to  officiate, 


IN  MEMORIAM.  773 

in  his  turn,  in  the  chapel  of  that  institution,  and  by  his  con- 
descending manner,  his  affectionate  earnestness,  and  his  happy 
art  of  illustration,  riveted  their  attention  and  gained  their 
hearts.  Numbers  of  them  gathered  around  his  casket,  as  it 
was  about  to  be  lowered  in  the  grave,  and  covered  it  with 
wreaths  of  flowers. 

As  an  ecclesiastic,  Dr.  Smyth  was  thoroughly  qualified  to 
be  a  leader  in  the  courts  and  councils  of  the  church.  Dr.  R. 
Breckenridge  said  of  him  that  "no  one  was  better  versed  in 
our  church  polity."  Whatever  has  been  written  on  the  subject 
of  church  order  he  had  read,  and  he,  probably,  had  access  to 
more  numerous  sources  of  information  than  any  of  his  con- 
temporaries in  this  country.  He  was  perfectly  familiar  with 
the  whole  history  of  the  ecclesiastical  controversy,  and  had 
thoroughly  studied  the  constitution  of  his  own  church.  He  had 
traced  upon  the  principles  of  Presbyterianism  through  all  the 
tangled  wilderness  of  controversy,  to  their  original  source,  in 
the  Word  of  God,  and  followed  the  historic  course  of  the 
mighty  River,  in  its  sublime  and  steady  flow  down  the  ages, 
sending  out  its  tributaries  in  all  directions — streams  that  "make 
glad,"  not  only  "the  City  of  our  God,"  but  bless  the  whole 
social  and  political  world  with  the  principles  of  civil  and  reli- 
gious freedom. 

On  the  floor  of  our  deliberative  assemblies  Dr.  Smyth  had 
but  few  equals,  as  a  debater,  and  nowhere  did  his  master-spirit 
so  exhibit  the  fulness  of  its  intellectual  energy  and  overpower- 
ing eloquence.  It  was  remarked  by  one  who  knew  him  inti- 
mately, and  as  a  co-laborer,  in  his  palmy  days,  "that  he  was 
not  so  great  in  the  pulpit,  where  he  generally  read  his  sermons, 
as  he  was  in  the  lecture  room ;  nor  was  he  so  great  in  the  lec- 
ture room  as  he  was  on  the  platform ;  nor  was  he  so  great  upon 
the  platform  as  he  was  on  the  floor  of  the  deliberative  assem- 
bly; nor  was  he  so  great  on  the  floor  of  the  deliberative 
assembly,  when  he  was  on  the  strong  side,  as  when  he  was  on 
the  weak  one.  But,  in  reply,  and  for  a  lost  cause  as  it  seemed, 
and  when  there  was  no  hope  for  his  side  apparently,  then  was 
Dr.  Smyth  strong,  and  then  was  he  dangerous  to  his  opponent." 


774  IN  MEMORIAM, 

This  is  substantially  the  testimony  of  all  who  encountered 
him  in  the  halls  of  debate,  and  who  attempted  to  resist  the 
tide  of  his  forensic  eloquence. 

As  a  churchman,  Dr.  Smyth  might  be  described  as  intensely 
denominational,  and  intensely  unsectarian.  This  distinction,  so 
admirably  drawn  in  his  memorable  discourse  on  "Denomina- 
tional Education,"*  was  so  gratifying  to  Dr.  Chalmers,  who 
heard  him  deliver  it,  that  he  afterwards  remarked  that  "he 
could  never  cease  talking  about  it."  A  loyal  son  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  he  loved  her  denominational  peculiarities 
with  a  patriotic  fervor.  But  while  he  cherished  her  glorious 
history  and  precious  traditions,  with  an  almost  idolatrous  rev- 
erence, he  was,  at  the  same  time,  an  utter  stranger  to  the 
narrow-mindedness  of  party,  or  the  exclusiveness  of  bigotry. 
The  Apostolic  benediction,  "Grace  be  with  all  those  who  love 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity,"  was  inscribed  upon  his 
Church  Banner.  "Let  brotherly  love  continue,"  was  his  motto. 
In  his  chapter  on  the  "Catholicity  of  Presbytery,"  he  remarks : 
"Christ  must  be  first,  fellowship  next,  and  then  as  much  uni- 
formity as  will  follow  from  the  two."  Of  naturally  a  Catholic 
spirit,  the  liberalizing  influence  of  a  wide  culture,  and  extensive 
travel  led  him  to  recoil  from  all  extreme  views  of  doctrine  or 
church  polity.  He  was  never  happier  than  when  he  united 
with  brethren  of  other  denominations  in  christian  fellowship, 
and  associated  activity,  and  had  he  lived,  he  would  have 
entered  heart  and  soul  into  the  Evangelical  Alliance — a  move- 
ment of  which  he  spoke  with  great  enthusiasm,  and  for  the 
success  of  which  he  fervently  prayed.  One  object  he  had  in 
view,  in  visiting  Europe  in  1846,  was  to  be  present  at  the  Evan- 
gelical Alliance,  at  its  first  great  World  meeting,  "when  the 
platform,  creed  and  basis  of  union  was  discussed  and  adopted," 
he  remarked,  "I  was  truly  delighted  to  find  how  patriotic  feel- 
ing extinguished  all  sectional  jealousies,  and  united  various 
denominations  in  one  compact,  solid  phalanx." 

It  was  to  him,  one  of  the  glorious  features  of  Presbyterian- 
ism,  as  an  ecclesiastical  system,  that  it  was  "at  once  capable 
of  extension  to  the  widest  circumference  of  humanity,  and  con- 
tains within  itself  the  germinant  principles  of  vitality,  diffu- 

*See  Appendix,  p.  800,  IV. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  775 

sion,  unity,  universality."  Under  the  term  Presbytery,  he  was 
wont  to  "include  those  generic  principles  which  are  common 
to  Congregationalists,  Presbyterians,  Reformed  Dutch,  Luth- 
erans, Baptists  and  Methodists,"  and  rejoice  that,  while  he 
differed  from  them  in  some  points,  "he  would  be  found  agree- 
ing with  the  liberal-minded  of  them  all."  He  would  thus  hope 
"to  draw  closer  the  bonds  of  Christian  truth,  harmony  and 
affection,  by  which  we  are  leagued  together." 

It  was  for  this  liberal,  Catholic  type  of  Presbyterianism  that 
he  contended,  toiled,  suffered,  and  consecrated  all  his  talents 
and  acquisitions.  He  strenuously  opposed  the  "Revised  Book 
of  Discipline,"  because  he  honestly  believed  that  it  was  sus- 
ceptible of  interpretation  subversive  of  these  grand  principles. 
According  to  his  view,  "Presbyterianism  is  jure  divino  in  this 
sense,  that  the  doctrines  of  the  church  are  given  by  Christ  in 
inspired  words ;  the  government,  in  general  rules  and  princi- 
ples, in  the  actions  and  examples  of  the  Apostles,  and  in  the 
exercise  of  a  wise,  Christian  expediency,  based  on  natural  and 
social  law,  as  expressly  declared  in  the  confession  of  faith. 
The  one  is  given  to  us  as  a  system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the 
scriptures;  the  other,  as  agreeable  to  Scripture,  and  yet  both 
de  jure  divino."  He  believed  that  the  "Revised  Rules"  virtu- 
ally identified  the  form  of  government,  discipline  and  worship, 
with  doctrine,  and  claimed  for  them  the  same  conscientious 
belief  and  conformity,  which  "tend  to  make  Presbyterianism 
High  Church  intolerant  and  illiberal,  robbing  it  of  its  crown- 
jewels,  love,  charity  and  brotherly  kindness  towards  all  Evan- 
gelical churches,  who  hold  Christ  in  all  His  glorious  divine 
offices,  as  Prophet,  Priest  and  King  of  His  blood-bought  peo- 
ple." The  Scriptures,  and  not  Church  standards,  are  the  ulti- 
mate appeal  in  all  matters  of  controversy. 

The  revision  movement  roused  all  his  old  martial  spirit.  The 
veteran  warrior  girded  on  his  armor,  and  through  many  a  long 
and  weary  night,  in  the  midst  of  sufferings  that  would  have 
unmanned  a  spirit  of  ordinary  mold,  he  prepared  a  series  of 
articles,  in  which  the  dying  Hercules  seemed  to  be  gathering 
up  all  his  remaining  strength  to  strike  one  more  effectual  blow 
for  the  principles  for  which  he  had  contended  all  his  life.  He 
would  not  have  felt  that  he  had  "finished  his  course,  and  kept 


776  IN  MEMORIAM. 

the  faith,"  had  he  remained  silent  during  this  controversy, 
even  on  the  verge  of  the  grave.  The  scarred  and  weather- 
beaten  soldier  fell  on  the  field  of  battle,  with  his  armor  on  and 
with  his  drawn  sword  in  his  hand. 

On  another  occasion,  pending  a  heated  discussion  upon  this 
theme  in  Presbytery,  when  a  motion  was  made  to  adjourn  on 
account  of  his  failing  strength,  he  replied,  with  his  panting 
breath,  that  he  was  willing  to  go  on,  he  could  not  die  in  a 
better  cause. 

At  the  time  of  the  great  disruption,  in  1843,  Dr.  Smyth 
urged,  with  a  glowing  zeal  and  eloquence,  the  claims  of  the 
Free  Church  of  Scotland,  to  the  sympathy  of  American  Chris- 
tians.* It  was  for  these  very  principles,  so  dear  to  his  heart, 
that  the  Church  of  Scotland  separated  from  the  Establishment, 
viz. :  "The  utter  renunciation  of  all  the  bigoted  and  exclusive 
views  which  prevented  free  intercourse  among  true-hearted 
Christians  of  every  name."  He  saw  in  the  foundation  of  that 
together  in  one  body  all  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in 
church  "the  first  link  in  the  golden  chain  which  is  to  bind 
sincerity  and  truth." 

It  is  of  such  sound  and  Catholic  principles  as  these,  that  the 
large-hearted  philanthropist,  and  the  sturdy  reformer  are 
made;  and  such  was  Dr.  Smyth.  He  entered  with  a  cordial, 
active  sympathy,  into  every  great,  social  and  moral  movement, 
looking  to  the  elevation  of  mankind.  He  had  a  quick,  sensi- 
tive ear  to  the  "sad  footsteps  of  humanity."  Like  his  Master, 
he  identified  himself  with  the  poor,  the  miserable,  the  unfortu- 
nate, the  outcast  everywhere.  One  prominent  element  of  his 
missionary  zeal  was  his  hearty  love  of  man ;  for  the  love  of 
Christ  develops  a  genuine  philanthropy,  a  world-wide  charity, 
a  heart-felt  desire  to  "do  good  to  all  men,  as  we  have  oppor- 
tunity;" or,  as  he,  himself,  expressed  it,  a  true  Christian  is  "a 
holy  beneficent  presence  in  society ;  a  sick  world's  healer ;  a  sad 
world's  comforter;  a  sympathizer  and  a  worker  with  the 
Supreme  Beneficence." 

He  was  an  active,  efficient  member  of  the  Bible  Society. 
He  advocated  the  claims  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,  with  great  earnestness,  as  promoting  the  "com- 

*See  Appendix,  p.  800,  V. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  777 

munion  of  citizenship,  the  brotherhood  of  Christianity,  and  the 
cause  of  Christian  philanthropy."  He  was  deeply  interested 
in  the  Orphan  House,  which  he  regarded  as  a  noble,  Christian 
charity,  "as  representing  the  benignity  of  heaven,  in  its  paren- 
tal care  for  the  fatherless,  and  a  bond  of  union  between 
the  rich  and  poor."  The  cause  of  education  found  in  him  a 
staunch  and  enthusiastic  supporter,  and  an  eloquent  advocate. 

It  was  in  the  spirit  of  a  Christian  philanthropist  that  he  cor- 
dially favored  and  zealously  defended  the  institution  of 
slavery,  for  "however  it  may  be  denounced  as  imperfect  and 
attended  with  evil,"  he  held  that  "it  had  been  employed  by 
unerring  wisdom  and  an  overruling  Providence,  as  an  instru- 
ment for  the  preservation,  elevation,  and  conversion  of  millions 
who  would  have  lived  and  died  in  heathen  ignorance,  super- 
stition and  cruelty."  He  believed  that  in  so  far  as  masters 
rendered  unto  their  slaves  that  which  is  "just  and  equal,"  in 
their  condition  and  sphere  of  life,  that  involuntary  servitude 
was  for  them  that  which  is  best  fitted  to  promote  their  well- 
being  and  happiness.  But  while  all  his  learning  and  ability 
were  enlisted  on  the  side  of  slavery,  he  was  equally  earnest 
and  bold  in  denouncing  the  unnecessary  evils,  and  reforming 
the  abuses  and  perversions  of  that  domestic  institution:  His 
celebrated  work  on  the  "Unity  of  the  Human  Races"  was 
written  in  the  interests  of  philanthropy,  as  well  as  science  and 
religion.*  The  denial  of  unity  he  regarded  as  uncharitable,  as 
it  is  unphilosophical.  To  degrade  the  African  below  the 
standard  of  the  human  species,  is  to  exclude  him  from  the 
benefits  of  redemption,  and  justify  his  barbarous  and  cruel 
treatment.  The  critical  reviewers  of  England,  Scotland,  and 
Ireland,  gave  him  the  credit  of  being  "the  first  to  come  forward 
in  this  controversy,  to  assert,  in  behalf  of  the  black  man  the 
unity  of  the  race,"  and  commended  his  "fearless  vindication 
of  this  doctrine,  in  the  midst  of  a  slave  population,  which  was 
calculated  to  render  him  unpopular  and  odious." 

He  exhibited  the  same  bold,  uncompromising  spirit  of  the 
Reformer,  in  his  public,  out-spoken  denunciation  of  the  stage, 
the  lottery,  and  every  evil  which  he  regarded  as  detrimental  to 
the  peace  and  order  of  society. 

*See  Appendix,  pp.  800-802,  VI. 


778  IN  MEMORIAM. 

Dr.  Smyth  was  too  sound  a  Presbtyerian,  to  be  anything  but 
a  whole-souled  Patriot,  when  patriotism  involves  the  spirit  of 
loyalty  to  the  principles  of  true  Republicanism,  and  a  readi- 
ness to  defend  them  at  any  sacrifice.  It  was  because  he 
believed  the  principles  of  our  constitutional,  representative, 
republican  government,  were  derived  from  Presbyterianism, 
and  are  the  only  safeguards  of  civil  and  rehgious  liberty,  that 
he  became,  in  this  land  of  his  adoption,  an  enthusiastic, 
patriotic,  American  citizen.  He  wrote  a  volume  of  several 
hundred  pages,  the  result  of  weary  months  of  laborious  study 
and  research,  to  demonstrate  the  identity  of  the  origin  of  our 
ecclesiastical,  and  civil  government.  I  use  his  own  language: 
"The  more  decidedly  a  man  is  a  Presbyterian,  the  more 
decidedly  he  is  a  repubhcan."  He  espoused  the  cause  of  the 
South  in  the  late  war,  because  he  believed  she  was  contending 
for  these  very  principles  of  civil  liberty  and  free  government. 
^  A  few  months  previous  to  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  he 
lamented  the  prospect  of  disunion  in  language  like  this: 
"When  I  was  a  child  upon  my  mother's  knee,  I  heard  thy 
praises,  my  adopted  country.  In  my  childhood's  visions  thine 
image  rose  proudly  magnificent  before  me,  towering  aloft  to 
heaven,  and  spreading  thy  branches  over  the  seas.  Boyhood's 
sports  were  jubilant  of  thee,  and  manhood  brought  with  it 
eager  expectations  of  becoming  inseparably  thine.  Here,  for 
thirty  years,  I  have  heard  from  every  lip,  on  every  festive 
occasion,  thy  praises.  And  must  we  take  up  the  lamentation 
and  say,  from  this  glorious  constitutional  union  all  the  beauty 
is  departed?  For  these  things  I  weep,  and  my  soul  is 
troubled."  As  he  thus  poured  out  his  unavailing  tears,  he  was 
ready  to  pour  out  the  last  drop  of  his  blood,  to  preserve  the 
inestimable  blessings  of  republican  liberty,  which  he  felt  were 
at  stake.  "He,  who  would  choose  life  at  such  a  sacrifice," 
said  he,  "is  not  worthy  of  life,  or  fit  to  die."  Dr.  Smyth  was 
a  true  Christian  patriot,  believing  that  his  country  was  a  union 
of  States,  not  a  union  of  people.  His  whole  heart  was  with 
the  South,  and  he  prayed,  and  preached,  and  wept  for  her, 
giving  his  three  sons  to  her  service  and  his  worldly  all  to  her 
cause. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  779 

Dr.  Smyth  was  also  a  voluminous  and  learned  author,  and 
has  left  to  the  world,  the  "life-blood  of  his  master-spirit,"  in 
many  a  page  and  many  a  volume  which  will  be  read  with  profit 
for  many  a  generation. 

It  has  doubtless  been  a  matter  of  surprise  with  many,  that 
one  who  was  called  to  take  the  oversight  of  a  large  and  labori- 
ous pastoral  charge,  could  justify  himself  in  consuming  so 
much  time  and  strength  in  the  distracting  cares,  and  exhaust- 
ing toils  of  authorship. 

In  his  unpublished  writings,  we  find  an  "Apology  for 
Authorship,"  which  furnishes  a  complete  vindication  of  his 
course  from  all  suspicion  of  literary  vanity  or  ambition.  He 
entered  upon  this  painful,  laborious,  and  self-sacrificing  work, 
as  a  faithful  steward  of  the  manifold  gifts  of  God,  who  desired 
to  make  the  most  of  his  abilities  and  opportunities.  But  upon 
this  point  we  will  allow  him  to  speak  for  himself:  "I  believe 
that  capacity  to  do,  brings  with  it  the  consciousness  of  its  own 
impelling  energy,  determination,  and  will ;  and  that  when  the 
heart  is  sanctified  and  set  right,  this  consciousness  brings  with 
it  a  corresponding  sense  of  responsibility  to  put  his  talents  out 
to  usury,  and  to  the  very  best  advantage.  I  believe,  also,  that 
with  such  conscious  ability  and  responsibility  to  do,  there  is 
a  proportionate  sense  of  'Woe  is  me,  if  I  do  not,'  of  humility 
in  view  of  what  is  done,  and  of  much  that  is  not  done.  A  man 
must  know  that  he  can  do,  and  what  he  can  do,  and  all  he  can 
do,  and  to  have  confidence  in  undertaking,  boldness  in  execu- 
tion, self-approval  in  having  endeavored  to  do  his  duty,  and 
self-condemnation,  if  he,  through  the  fear  or  favor  of  men, 
fails  to  do." 

The  interval  from  1836*  to  1838,  he  styles  his  period  of 
controversy,  "arising  from  agitations  in  the  Church  of  New 
School  doctrines  and  measures,  which  led  to  a  division  of 
presbytery  and  ecclesiastical  isolation.  This  was  followed  by 
the  next  period,  of  hard  study  and  frequent  publication  for 
the  confirmation  of  his  own  faith,  and  the  general  edification 
of  the  church."  Having  been  brought  up  in  an  Independent 
Church,  he  was  early  led  to  the  study  of  church  government, 
and  was  greatly  stimulated  in  these  investigations  by  the  exclu- 

*See  Appendix,  p,  802,  VII. 


780  IN  MEMORIAM. 

sive  claims  of  prelacy,  which  were  at  that  time  proclaimed 
with  great  boldness  and  arrogance.  About  this  time,  also, 
appeared  the  "Oxford  Tracts,"  which  he  styled  "the  Goliath 
of  the  host  of  the  Philistines."  He,  accordingly,  gave  himself 
to  the  collection  of  standard  works  on  these  controversies,  that 
by  thorough  study,  he  might  become  master  of  the  whole  sub- 
ject, and  afford  his  brethren  the  advantage  of  a  convenient 
access  to  original  authorities.  It  was  under  these  trying  and 
perilous  circumstances,  that  he  began  to  prepare  his  Lectures 
on  Presbytery  and  Not  Prelacy.  His  object  was  catholic  and 
defensive,  and  he  was  warmly  encouraged  by  leading  men 
among  the  laity,  as  well  as  among  his  ministerial  brethren. 
When  the  work  on  "Apostolical  Succession"  first  appeared,  its 
authorship  was  questioned  by  a  prominent  English  publisher, 
who  said  that  he  had  been  accustomed  to  associate  such  exten- 
sive research  and  profound  learning  with  mature  age  and 
experience.  This  work  was  "the  first  of  the  kind  published 
in  this  country,  and  distinctively  in  any  other,  by  a  Presby- 
terian, and  to  any  great  extent  by  other  writers.  The  subject 
was  novel  and  the  attempt  hazardous."  What  he  judged  to 
be  most  needed  was  an  elaborate  compilation  of  arguments 
and  authorities.  Its  publication  was  followed  by  other  popular 
and  able  compends.  But  how  far  they  were  indebted  to  his 
voluminous  work,  he  never  knew.  It  was  remarked,  however, 
by  a  prominent  minister,  that  it  was  evident  they  had  been 
"milking  his  cow."  This  was  what  he  expected  and  desired; 
that  his  scholastic  labors  and  researches,  should  furnish 
material  for  more  popular  works.  Thankful  for  the  ability  to 
write,  and  gratuitously  circulate  them,  he  was  content  that 
they  should  remain  on  the  students'  shelves  of  reference. 

The  works  on  "Apostolical  Succession,"  "Presbytery  and 
Not  Prelacy,"  and  "Ecclesiastical  Republicanism,"  had  a  wide 
circulation  among  all  denominations  in  this  country  and  in 
Europe.f  Both  Dr.  Alexander  and  Dr.  Miller,  of  Princeton, 
commended  them  in  the  highest  terms.$  The  former  said,  that 
when  he  looked  around  for  a  text-book,  he  settled  on  Dr. 
Smyth's  "Presbytery  and  Not  Prelacy"  as  the  best,  and  deter- 

tSee  Appendix,  p.  802,  VIII. 
tSee  Appendix,  pp.  802-804,  IX. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  781 

mined  to  introduce  it  at  once.§  Dr.  Duff,  of  London, 
remarked  to  the  author,  that  he  was  using  the  work  on  "Apos- 
toHcal  Succession,"  in  his  College,  in  Calcutta,  and  that  when 
he  was  consulted  on  the  claims  of  Prelacy  and  Romanism,  he 
found  it  a  complete  armory.  His  work  on  the  "Unity  of  the 
Races,"  was  criticised  in  Great  Britain,  as  a  "masterly  and 
valuable  book."  Principal  Cunningham  wrote :  "It  displays 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  subject,  and  of  all  that  has  been 
wirtten  upon  it,  down  to  the  most  recent  productions.  The 
argument  is  conducted  with  much  ability,  and  brought  to  a 
triumphant  conclusion."  Dr.  Duff  said :  "It  may  be  character- 
ized as  scholarlike,  without  pedantry ;  elaborate,  without  tedi- 
ousness ;  comprehensive,  without  diffuseness ;  argumentative, 
without  dryness." 

He  published,  in  all,  about  thirty  volumes,  embracing  almost 
every  subject.  The  most  popular  works  are,  "The  Well  in 
the  Valley,"  "Why  Do  I  Live,"  and  the  volumes  on  Missions.** 
These  are  works  that  will  live.  He  received  scores  of  letters 
from  all  parts  of  the  world,  thanking  him  for  their  publication, 
and  expressing  the  pleasure  and  profit  derived  from  their 
perusal.  They  are  written  in  his  most  earnest  and  engaging 
style,  and  replete  with  solid  doctrine,  in  the  most  practical  and 
attractive  form. 

His  method  of  writing  and  preparing  his  works  for  publica- 
tion, though  justified  in  his  own  case,  he  would  not  recommend 
to  others.  "After  arranging  and  digesting  my  materials,"  he 
says,  "I  wrote  in  great  haste,  and  in  a  fever  of  excitement,  so 
as  frequently  to  bathe  me  in  perspiration,  and  perfectly 
benumb  my  fingers.  My  mind  was  so  entirely  abstracted,  that 
I  was,  often,  unable  to  recall  the  most  familiar  household 
words  at  the  table.  I  never  copied  for  printing,  or  rewrote 
any  one  work  or  pamphlet.  They  were  printed  from  the  origi- 
nal manuscript,  or  the  manuscript  copied,  corrected,  amended, 
altered,  abridged  or  enlarged.  Of  course  this  is  to  my  con- 
demnation, and  no  excuse  for  their  many  imperfections.  So  it 
has  been  however;  I  never  could  bear  rewriting,  and  the  truth 
is  I  wrote  everything  in  the  expectation  that  I  had  but  a  short 

§See  Appendix,  p.  805,  X. 
**See  Appendix,  p.  805,  XI. 


782  IN  MEMORIAM. 

time  to  live,  and  must  do  quickly  whatever  I  did.  I  wrote 
each  work,  thinking  it  was  my  last,  and  I  must  be  willing  to 
do  whatever  service  I  could,  and  lose  the  possible  fame  of 
greater  condensation,  correctness  of  style,  and  perfection  of 
arrangement.  I  have  also  detracted  greatly  from  the  origi- 
nality of  my  works  by  numerous  quotations  and  a  parade  of 
multiplied  references." 

But  this  he  did  advisedly.  His  object  was  not  originality 
and  fame,  but  the  diffusion  of  useful  knowledge.  Hence,  his 
larger  works  partake  of  the  nature  of  magazines  or  encyclo- 
pedias. It  would  be  far  easier,  and  save  immense  labor,  for 
writers  to  give  as  their  own,  the  substance  of  other  men's 
thoughts  and  investigations,  than  to  trace  out  systematically 
the  sources  of  their  ideas,  facts  and  arguments.  Having  the 
advantage  of  an  extensive  library,  he  determined  to  put  the 
results  of  his  researches  in  such  a  form,  as  to  give  his  brethren, 
as  well  as  himself,  an  opportunity  for  original  investigation. 
His  quotations  and  references,  therefore,  were,  in  most  cases, 
subsequent  additions,  and  the  result  of  continued  accession  of 
books  and  knowledge. 

These  memoranda  were  recorded,  he  says,  "simply  as  facts 
in  my  history,  known  only  to  myself,  and  so  far  a  justification 
of  my  course,  and  a  vindication  of  my  own  judgment,  that  I 
was,  by  opportunity  and  capacity,  called  upon  to  write  and  to 
publish ;  and  that  however  temporary  and  limited  their  useful- 
ness might  be,  they  were  approved  by  our  Church  and  instru- 
mental in  promoting  truth  and  charity."  His  publications  were 
the  result  of  long  and  very  laborious  study,  and  accumulated 
preparations  for  years,  and  were  prepared  chiefly  at  hours 
beyond  pastoral  claims  and  duties. 

Dr.  Smyth  probably  collected  the  largest  library  which  has 
ever  been  gathered  in  this  country,  numbering  at  one  time 
nearly  twenty  thousand  volumes.  In  all  his  travels,  in  America 
and  Europe,  he  was  in  quest  of  books,  often  spending  whole 
days  in  stores  and  antiquarian  stalls ;  and,  for  years,  con.suming 
the  greater  part  of  his  salary  in  the  purchase  of  books.  He 
says,  "I  studied  Bibliography,  in  order  to  collect  a  large,  sys- 
tematic, Presbyterian,  Theological  and  Literary  Library,  as  an 
armorv  for  our  ministers  and  churches  in  Charleston,  similar 


IN  MEMORIAM.  783 

to  that  of  Dr.  Williams  in  London.  As  it  increased,  I  labored 
to  adapt  it  for  a  Theological  Seminary,  in  which  I  hoped  it 
ultimately  would  find  a  providential  location."  This  desire 
was  fu,)ly  realized.  About  eleven  thousand  of  his  volumes  are 
now  in. the  Theological  Seminary,  at  Columbia,  S.  C,  and  are 
known  as  the  "Smyth  Library." 

It  seems  a  little  singular  that  he  should  caution  young  min- 
isters "to  beware  of  a  passion  for  books,  or  a  blind  chase  after 
a  large  library.  It  is,  as  a  general  thing,  vain  and  useless.  It 
is  often  impoverishing  and  infatuating.  It  becomes  as  insatiate 
as  the  grave,  crying,  'Give !  give !'  I  feel  that  I  was  an  excep- 
tion to  the  rule,  a  sacrifice,  willingly  offered  up  for  the  public 
good.  I  felt  a  special  call  to  collect  a  large  library,  not  for 
myself,  but  for  my  brethren's  sake,  and  for  posterity.  This 
has  been  a  part  of  my  life  work.  But,  except  for  research  and 
reference,  I  have  confined  myself  within  my  rule,  having  my 
select  library,  preceptors,  and  social  companions  and  bosom 
friends,  whom  having  early  loved,  I  love  unto  the  end,  and 
hope  to  love  in  blissful  eternity  in  a  world  of  light,  love  and 
spiritual  progress." 

For  the  sake  of  general  improvement,  and  to  gratify  a  long 
cherished  taste  for  the  sciences,*  he  attended  the  Medical  Lec- 
tures in  the  College,  at  Charleston,  for  two  seasons,  and  pur- 
sued the  study  privately.  He  also  read  Blackstone  and  other 
treatises  on  Law,  together  with  a  course  of  classical  literature 
and  general  science.  In  the  Literary  Club,  of  which  he  was  a 
member,  he  enjoyed  a  "delightful  opportunity  of  widening  his 
circle  of  study  and  resources  of  knowledge."  He,  also,  com- 
menced, at  the  same  time,  a  course  of  reading,  and  the  trans- 
lation of  the  earliest  Fathers,  in  which  he  made  considerable 
progress.  These  items  are  mentioned  to  show  the  variety  and 
extent  of  his  studies.  He  was  an  omnivorous  reader.  His 
library  was  a  microcosm — a  little  world  of  books.  The 
wonder  is  not  that  he  became  a  living  encyclopaedia  of  knowl- 
edge, but  that  his  feeble  frame  endured  the  toil,  and  bore  the 
burden. 

"In  consideration  of  his  attainments  in  theological  learning, 
and  his  labors  in  the  cause  of  truth,"  he  was  honored  by  Prince- 

*See  Appendix,  p.  805,  XII. 


784  IN  MEIMORIAM. 

ton  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity,  the  rule  being  sus- 
pended, which  required  six  months'  notice.  Never,  said  Dr. 
Miller,  had  a  degree  been  more  deservedly  conferred.f  He 
was  at  that  time  about  thirty-seven  years  of  age,  and  had 
graduated  from  the  seminary  only  about  ten  years. 

Any  account  of  this  extraordinary  life  would  be  imperfect, 
which  did  not  give  great  prominence  to  the  element  of  suffer- 
ing. The  weakling  of  the  flock,  he  describes  himself  as  a  com- 
plaining, croaking  boy,  of  whom  his  father  said,  "There  is  no 
cure  for  him  but  a  plaister  of  earth."  His  sad  words  proved 
only  too  true,  for  the  life-long  sufferer  found  no  respite  from 
pain  until  the  kind  earth  folded  him  to  her  bosom,  and  covered 
him  with  the  mantle  of  the  grave.  Both  in  Belfast  and  Prince- 
ton, his  health  failed  him.  He  came  to  Charleston  to  receive 
an  additional  burden  of  suffering  in  the  form  of  sick  head- 
aches, which  were  very  frequent  and  prostrating.  In  1848, 
he  was  attacked  with  partial  paralysis,  "which  produced  a  stiff, 
abnormal  condition  of  his  left  arm  and  fingers,  causing  a 
derangement  between  the  nerves  and  muscles,  from  which  he 
never  recovered,  and  which  often  occasioned  severe  pain." 

The  second  attack  of  undoubted,  and  confirmed  paralysis, 
in  1853,  left  him  long  on  crutches,  and  almost  a  helpless  cripple. 
This  attack,  as  he  describes  it,  was  "at  the  ganglionic  centre, 
at  the  base  of  the  spine,  and  never  for  a  moment  affected  con- 
sciousness, memory  or  digestion." 

"In  my  own  estimation,"  he  said,  "I  have  lived  from  day  to 
day,  as  a  tenant  at  will,  looking  any  moment  for  an  ejectment, 
and  change  of  residence.  I  have  searched  curiously  for  the 
secret  source  of  vitality,  but  sought  in  vain.  I  awake  in  the 
morning,  asking  myself:  Is  it  possible  I  am  alive?  And  when 
worn  and  exhausted  by  pain  and  wakefulness,  and  oppressive 
sinking  of  the  soul,  in  her  pleading  voice,  crying  to  the  body, 

'Cease,  fond  nature,  cease  thy  strife, 
And  let  me  languish  into  life,' — 

I  have  wondered  with  a  great  amazement,  what  invisible  power 
held  together  a  body  and  spirit  so  willing  to  dissolve  partner- 
ship, and  so  ill-mated  with  one  another.  I  have  often  thought 
I  could  write  a  natural  history  of  pain.     I  have  known  her 

tSee  Appendix,  pp.  806-807,  XIII. 


IN  MEIMORIAM,  785 

from  childhood.  We  have  walked  arm  in  arm,  dwelt  in  the 
same  house,  occupants  of  the  same  bed.  She  is  like  the 
chamelion  of  every  hue,  and  like  Proetus,  of  every  shape.  She 
is  sometimes  as  quick  as  light,  and  again,  like  an  Alexandrian 
line,  'drags  her  slow  length  along.'  Sometimes,  she  is  as  the 
forked  lightning  coursing  in  tortuous  torture  through  every 
limb  and  fibre  of  the  body,  and  dissolving  the  pent-up,  and 
collected  clouds  of  bitterness  into  flooding  tears ;  ani  some- 
times she  is  that  lightning  in  its  negative  form,  of  quiet,  dull 
monotony,  or  occasional  playful  flashes,  just  enough  to  rouse 
the  attention  and  excite  the  fancy.  Sometimes  she  languishes 
into  the  faint  tones  of  an  infant,  talking  in  its  .sleep,  or  like  the 
bubbling  groan  of  some  strong  swimmer  in  his  agony,  or  like 
a  strong  man  in  the  whirlwind  of  his  passion,  she  put  on  an 
angel's  might,  and  mystery  of  power." 

During  the  war  he  spent  about  two  years  and  a  half  in  Clar- 
endon county,  of  this  State,  and,  while  he  was  suffering  these 
Protean  forms  of  pain,  he  followed  the  Methodist  minister 
through  his  whole  circuit,  of  four  or  five  churches,  preaching 
every  Sabbath,  in  all  the  vicissitudes  of  weather,  the  oppressive 
heat  of  summer,  and  the  raw  and  rainy  rigors  of  winter.  The 
heroic  sufferer  could  find  no  excuse  for  idleness,  and  the  only 
reward  he  claimed  was  the  joy  of  laboring  for  his  Master,  and 
for  the  salvation  of  souls. 

About  four  years  before  his  tireless  energies  were  released 
from  the  fetters  of  the  flesh,  his  organs  of  speech  were  sud- 
denly paralyzed  in  the  midst  of  his  midnight  studies.  He  rose 
to  call  a  servant  and  was  surprised  to  find  that  he  was 
incapable  of  articulating  a  word.  Doubtless  believing  that  his 
speech  was  hopelessly  gone,  or  that  he  was  near  his  end,  he 
wrote  on  a  slip  of  paper,  to  his  wife,  "Perfect  peace."  But 
finding  that  his  general  health  was  not  seriously  affected  by 
this  local  paralysis,  he  immediately  addressed  himself  to  the 
task  of  regaining  his  lost  speech,  with  a  resolute  will  that  was 
never  paralyzed  by  discouragement  or  despair;  and,  never  did 
he  appear  greater  in  all  his  grand  career,  than  when  reciting, 
hour  after  hour,  and  week  after  week,  the  letters  of  the  alpha- 
bet, advancing  from  vowels,  and  consonants  to  syllables,  and 
from  monosyllables  to  words,  and  sentences,  until,  upon  the 

50— Vol.  X. 


786  IN  MEMORIAM. 

anvil  of  his  iron  will,  he  broke,  link  by  ling,  the  chains  that 
bound  his  eloquent  tongue,  and,  at  length,  shouting,  like  David 
of  old,  "Awake  up  my  glory,"  his  voice  rang  again  with  the 
praises  of  the  sanctuary,  and  the  "glad  tidings  of  salvation." 
For  many  years,  every  one  had  spoken  of  him  as  "the  wonder- 
ful man;"  but  when  his  mute  tongue  was  unloosed,  when  this 
Samson  had  rent  asunder  his  fetters  with  the  sheer  force  of 
his  giant  will,  his  friends  were  themselves  dumb  with  amaze- 
ment. From  this  time,  he  continued  his  vocal  exercises, 
repeating  the  scriptures  and  pages  of  sacred  poetry,  which  his 
memory  retained  with  astonishing  accuracy. 

After  the  lapse  of  a  year  or  more,  he  felt  it  his  duty,  on 
account  of  growing  weakness  and  an  imperfect  utterance,  to 
resign  his  pastoral  charge ;  but  he  did  not  resign  his  determina- 
tion to  work  for  his  Master,  as  long  as  life  lasted.*  Although 
in  the  estimation  of  all  but  himself,  he  was  honorably  dis- 
charged from  warfare,  he  refused  to  law  down  his  arms  and 
retire  from  the  field  of  active  service.  Without  the  slightest 
abatement  of  his  former  energy  and  zeal,  he  continued  to 
preach  whenever  called  upon,  either  in  his  own  church,  or  the 
churches  of  other  denominations ;  and  by  his  presence,  prayers, 
counsel  and  active  service,  to  help  forward  every  good  work; 
in  the  Bible  Society,  the  Clerical  Union,  the  weekly  prayer- 
meeting  (which  he  attended  regularly  in  all  kinds  of  weather), 
in  the  higher  and  lower  judicatures  of  the  church ;  until  within 
a  few  weeks  of  his  death,  he  was  regularly  present  every  Sab- 
bath in  his  own  pulpit,  generally  offering  the  closing  prayer, 
the  unction  of  which  still  lingers  in  our  memory,  like  a  sweet 
savor ;  and  on  communion  occasions,  he  always  made  the  sacra- 
mental address  at  the  Lord's  Table,  when  he  often  seemed  to 
be  literally  looking  within  the  veil,  and  holding  visible  com- 
munion with  the  Saviour. 

Thus  did  he  labor  on  with  unflagging  energy,  working  until 
his  throbbing  heart  ceased  to  beat,  and  the  "pulse  of  life  stood 
still."  When  all  his  branches  were  bare,  and  the  atmosphere 
bleak  and  wintry,  his  soul-life  was  budding  with  new  desires 
and  hopes,  and  new  plans  and  enterprises  were  struggling  into 
bloom  and  fruit. 

♦See  Appendix,  pp.  807-813,  XIV. 


IN  MCMORIAM.  787 

It  was  during  these  latter  years  of  suffering,  only  two 
months  after  the  last  stroke  of  paralysis,  that  a  disastrous  lire 
swept  away  the  choicest  portion  of  his  collection  of  bocks, 
which  he  called  his  ''working  library,"  together  with  valuable 
manuscripts  upon  which  he  had  bestowed  several  years  of 
laborious  study.  This  melancholy  loss  he  was  never  able  to 
repair,  partly  from  physical  inability  to  bear  the  exhausting 
labor  or  research  and  investigations,  and,  partly,  on  account 
of  the  impossibility  of  replacing  rare  and  costly  works.  It 
was  a  sore  trial  to  him,  and  a  serious  loss  to  the  world. 

Such  a  life  of  suffering  is  replete  with  valuable  lessons.  As 
drawn  out  by  himself,  and  expanded  at  considerable  length, 
they  would  form  an  interesting  and  useful  volume.  We  have 
space  here  only  for  the  briefest  summary.  It  teaches,  first, 
"that  great  health  is  not  necessary  to  great  labor,  and  that  a 
feeble  and  imperfect  constitution  is  not  inconsistent  with  a 
long  life."  The  adage,  that  "a  sound  mind  must  have  a  sound 
body,"  and  that  the  latter  is  essential  to  success,  must  be 
received  with  great  qualification.  The  greatest  thinkers  and 
workers  have,  probably,  been,  on  the  whole,  among  the  least 
healthy  and  vigorous,  and  often,  among  the  most  sickly,  dwell- 
ing in  tenements,  shaken  by  every  wind.  There  is,  also,  in 
such  constitutions  a  resiliency  and  recuperative  power,  a  buoy- 
ant elasticity  and  energy  in  its  periods  of  restoration,  as  to  give 
it  great  advantage. 

Neither  is  perfect,  uninterrupted  health,  necessary  to  enjoy- 
ment. "I  am  often  as  merry  as  the  cricket  which  I  have  been 
endeavoring  to  attach  to  my  room,  that  I  may  find  a  solace  in 
its  lively  and  soothing  song,  and  a  pleasing  remembrance  of 
childhood's  scenes.  I  often  soar  with  the  lark  in  its  jubilant 
flight  toward  heaven,  and  join  in  its  carol  and  ecstatic  rapture 
and  joy.  And  when  not  in  humor  of  positive  joy  and  self- 
amusing  laughter,  I  can  often  sympathize  with  the  peaceful, 
playful  contentment  of  the  little  kittens  that  perform  their 
antics  around  my  table,  and  partake  of  my  simple  fare." 

Dr.  Smyth  was  a  cheerful,  happy  sufferer.  His  sufferings 
never  made  life  dark,  dismal  or  undesirable.  He  had  culti- 
vated a  merry,  joyous  spirit.  He  had  learned  to  smile  on  suf- 
fering, and  extract  pleasure  from  pain.     The  cares,  anxieties. 


788  IN  MEMORIAM. 

disappointments,  afiflictions  and  sorrows,  that  swarmed  around 
him  like  bees,  armed  with  piercing  stings,  were  all  laden  with 
honey  for  his  hive  of  cheerfulness.  He  recommended  the  stu- 
dent to  "cherish  a  lively,  cheerful,  joyous,  laughing  spirit,"  and 
suggests  as  auxiliaries  to  cheerfulness,  "a  growing  acquaint- 
ance with  natural  scenery,  a  cultivation  of  the  taste  and  the 
imagination.  With  such  knowledge  and  taste,  no  one  need 
ever  be  alone  or  unhappy,  i.  c,  when  the  eye  of  faith  looks 
through  nature  up  to  nature's  God." 

"A  knowledge  and  love  of  singing  and  instrumental  music, 
will  be  a  great  help  in  reviving  the  drooping  spirits  and  dissi- 
pating morbid  feelings." 

His  own  favorite  resource  was  poetry.  He  wooed  her  ten- 
derly and  constantly,  and  found  her  as  a  well  of  living  waters 
to  his  thirsty  soul.  He  carried  a  large  volume  of  well  selected 
poems  and  hymns  in  his  memory,  which  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
repeating  to  himself  in  his  solitary  walks  or  drives,  and  in  the 
loneliness  of  the  sick  chamber.  His  works  abound  with 
poetical  quotations,  without  which  no  book  would  bear  the 
impress  of  Dr.  Smyth's  mind  and  heart. 

We  should  not  omit  to  say  that  he  regarded  "the  inward, 
happy  communion  of  the  soul  with  God,"  as  the  ultimate  foun- 
tain of  a  cheerful  disposition,  whose  living  waters  fill  every 
channel  of  labor  and  suffering,  nature  and  society,  music  and 
poetry. 

He  once  remarked  that  it  was  "of  great  importance  to  a  man, 
especially  of  sedentary  habits,  to  be  able  to  raise  a  laugh  when 
he  is  growing  moody  and  phlegmatic.  For  this  purpose  let 
him  treasure  up  any  scenes  of  particularly  ludicrous  and 
laughter-exciting  merriment,  that  may  have  formed  a  comic 
interlude  between  the  more  solemn  scenes  of  the  tragedy  of 
life.  A  good  laugh  is  a  great  exhilarant.  It  puts  body,  soul 
and  spirit  in  good  humor,  and  in  a  ready  disposition  to  work." 
Wit  and  humor  was  one  branch  of  his  study,  and  he  kept  comic 
pictures  hanging  behind  his  study  door  that  he  might,  at  any 
time,  work  off  his  moody  feelings. 

In  reviewing  his  years  of  suffering,  he  gave  it  as  his  opinion 
that  "a  life  of  pain  and  a  body  of  weakness,  are  perhaps  the 


IN  MEMORIAM.  789 

best,  and  on  the  whole,  the  happiest,  and,  for  the  soul,  always 
the  most  prosperous  condition  of  its  probationary  state." 

Dr.  Smyth  was  as  great  in  humility,  as  he  was  great  in  suf- 
fering. He  was  uttering  the  sincere  language  of  humble  sub- 
mission to  the  Divine  will,  when  he  said,  "I  am  sensible  of  my 
entire  weakness,  dependence,  and  unworthiness.  I  have 
desired  to  take  my  place  and  position  as  God  assigns  it,  neither 
taking  the  direction  nor  refusing  to  follow ;  neither  avoiding 
humiliation  nor  exaltation ;  having  a  profound  sense  of  my 
own  sinful  nothingness,  and  of  my  ill-desert  of  any  but  the 
lowest  seat  among  the  great,  wise  and  good ;  and  yet  believing 
I  can  be,  and  do  all  things  God  requires  of  me,  through  His 
wisdom  guiding,  and  grace  strengthening.  I  have  endeavored 
to  distrust  myself  without  distrusting  God,  and  have  endured 
many  rebuffs,  many  hard  blows,  many  contemptuous  remarks 
and  actions.  I  have  been  scorched,  peeled  and  annihilated ; 
filled  with  shame  and  self-loathing,  and  would  gladly,  a  thou- 
sand times,  have  sunk  into  the  earth,  or  fallen  as  a  star  of 
night,  into  darkness  and  nothingness.  I  have  prayed  God  to 
disappoint  all  my  desires,  blast  all  my  schemes,  and  throw 
contempt  on  all  my  pride,  so  far  as  is  necessary  to  my  sanctifi- 
cation  and  usefulness.  I  have  endeavored  to  walk  humbly  and 
softly,  and  to  receive  as  well-deserved  the  chastisement  of  the 
Lord.  If  a  course  of  discouraging  circumstances,  and  adverse 
prospects  be  designed  expressly  for  my  chastisement,  may  I  not 
hope  that  it  was  meant  in  mercy?  Raise  and  fix.  Almighty 
Spirit,  my  fainting,  wavering  heart,  to  a  true  resignation,  the 
only  atmosphere  of  peace.  O,  penetrate  me  with  deeper, 
hoHer,  happier  views  of  things  eternal,  as  imminent  and  near 
at  hand,  as  swiftly  approaching  and  inconceivably  glorious. 
Then,  O,  my  God,  let  earthly  hopes  be  darkness,  earthly  joys 
expire,  intervening  sadness,  as  well  as  final  sickness  and  death, 
with  all  their  pains  lie  before  me,  I  will  adore  thee  with  a 
grateful  heart,  and  pray  never  more  to  complain,  but  chide  my 
every  regret,  and  suppress  all  my  repinings." 

But  underneath  all  these  various  aspects  of  his  life,  lay  a 
noble  Christian  manhood.  In  concluding  this  hasty  and  imper- 
fect survey,  let  us  glance  at  the  entire  man.  Those  of  you 
who  knew  him  in  his  prime,  will  readily  recall  his  tall,  erect. 


790  IN  MEMORIAM. 

commanding  figure,  crowned  with  raven  locks  of  luxuriant 
growth,  always  arranged  with  care  and  taste ;  his  bright,  blue 
eyes,  always  wide  open ;  wearing  in  repose  a  tender  expression ; 
sparkling  with  humor  in  social  converse,  and  flashing  with  fire 
in  animated  debate,  or  pulpit  discourse ;  his  voice,  naturally 
sweet  and  mellow  as  a  flute  in  its  conversational  tones,  and 
which  imparted  to  his  persuasive  appeals  an  irresistible  pathos, 
that  moved  and  melted  to  tears  the  m.ost  hardened  hearer;  but 
when  he  rose  to  the  height  of  his  great  argument  and  to  an 
impassioned  and  eloquent  declamation,  it  became  as  sonorous 
as  the  blast  of  a  bugle,  and  filled  his  vast  audience-room  with 
its  expansive  volume.  His  brow  was  not  massive,  nor  his 
features  and  face  large,  yet  they  bore  the  image  and  super- 
scription of  greatness,  which  the  most  ordinary  beholder  could 
read.  During  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life,  his  bent  form, 
crippled  gait,  and  growing  infirmities,  reminded  one  of  the 
wreck  of  a  noble  ship,  which,  with  its  rent  sails  and  dismasted 
hulk,  still  rides  proudly  and  grandly  upon  the  billowy  sea,  and 
weathers  its  raging  storms,  when  scores  of  staunch  and  sea- 
worthy vessels  are  stranded  aad  wrecked  around  her.  The 
hobbling  gait  did  not  lose  its  dignity,  nor  the  shattered  form 
its  manliness. 

In  his  intellectual  and  moral  character  he  presents  a  singular 
spectacle  of  opposite,  antagonistic  qualities.  He  was  at  home, 
in  company  with  Calvin  and  Owen,  and  delighted  as  a  school 
boy  over  Robinson  Crusoe  or  a  nursery  rhyme.  He  wrestled 
with  the  giants  of  theology  and  philosophy,  and  roamed  the 
woods  with  the  poets,  and  communed  with  the  cricket  on  his 
hearth,  and  gambolled  with  the  children  and  kittens  around 
his  fireside.  The  stern,  uncompromising  advocate  for  truth, 
he  was  bubbling  with  Irish  humor.  The  lion-like  warrior  was 
a  gentle-hearted  lamb.  He  was  a  bold,  gallant  spirit,  fearless 
of  an  opponent,  reckless  of  consequences,  however  disastrous 
to  his  own  reputation  or  interest.  Yet,  he  never  "broke  the 
bruised  reed,  nor  quenched  the  smoking  flax,"  but  bore  his 
wounded  ones  in  his  arms,  and  carried  them  in  his  bosom. 
His  manner  in  the  halls  of  debate  was  often  stern,  imperious, 
relentless;  sometimes  even  harsh,  cruel,  unmerciful  to  those 
who  opposed  him.     But  they  who  were  acquainted  with  the 


IN  MEMORIAM.  791 

man,  knew  how  much  to  attribute  to  a  strong,  passionate 
nature,  whose  energies  were  all  aroused,  stimulated,  and  fired 
by  the  heat  of  discussion,  and  zeal  for  the  cause  of  truth,  until 
he  burned  like  a  volcano ;  and  how  much  allowance  to  make 
for  the  deep  spring  of  love,  hidden  beneath  this  flaming 
Vesuvius,  which  was  ready  to  gush  like  a  pent-up  fountain, 
as  soon  as  the  lava  of  controversy  had  spent  itself.  Dr.  Thorn- 
well,  who  often  encountered  him  in  the  deliberative  assembly, 
said  of  him,  that  no  one  had  a  kinder  heart  and  a  more  for- 
giving spirit,  than  Dr.  Smyth.  He  never  nursed  a  grudge. 
His  capacious  memory  had  no  room  for  garnered  wrongs,  or 
treasured  wrath.  All  injuries  were  forgiven  and  forgotten. 
We  have  the  declaration  in  his  own  handwriting:  "I  cherish 
no  ill-will,  no  envious  dislike  to  any  human  being,  as  I  never 
had  any  personal  pride,  or  self-interest  to  gratify  in  any  minis- 
terial or  church  plans." 

He  had  an  unbounded  ambition  to  make  the  most  of  his 
talents  and  opportunities,  and  to  attain  to  all  possible  human 
excellence  and  usefulness.  There  was  no  limit  to  his  aspiring 
soul,  and  every  successful  achievement  only  stimulated  him  to 
bolder  and  loftier  endeavor.  It  deserves  to  be  noticed  that, 
with  a  natural  desire  to  be  prominently  useful,  it  had  been 
impressed  upon  him  by  pastors,  teachers  and  friends,  from  the 
time  that  he  "officiated  as  chaplain  of  the  nursery,  with  the 
high  easy  chair  for  a  pulpit,"  until  he  entered  the  Theological 
Seminary,  that  he  had  before  him  an  extraordinary  career. 
Yet  he  was  as  meek  and  humble  as  a  child  when  disappoint- 
ment and  defeat  were  interpreted  as  expressions  of  the  Divine 
will.  When  he  was  taken  to  the  exceeding  high  mountain  of 
carnal  ambition,  and  ofifered  a  brilliant  career  and  a  world- 
wide fame,  in  the  midst  of  this  temptation  of  the  devil,  he 
prayed,  "God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner,"  and  then  laid  upon 
the  altar  of  sacrifice  his  ambition,  his  studies,  his  writings,  his 
preaching,  his  success — all  that  he  ever  desired  or  designed  to 
do — a  whole  burnt  offering,  and  turning  away  from  the  burn- 
ing pile,  he  prayed  again :  "I  beseech  thee.  Lord,  to  forgive  all 
my  self -righteousness  and  self-seeking,  and  grant  that  I  may 
be  saved,  as  by  fire,  with  the  loss  of  all  things,  for  which  I 
have  been  commended,  and  that  I  may  not  be  a  cast-away,  but 


792  IN  MEMORIAM, 

a  trophy  of  all-conquering  and  all-sanctifying  grace.  Amen 
and  Amen." 

That  he  was  ambitious,  without  vain-glory,  is  demonstrated 
by  his  whole  ministerial  life,  during  which,  in  every  measure, 
to  which  he  laid  his  hands,  he  adopted  the  very  course  that 
imperils  reputation  and  the  very  last  that  vanity  would  have 
chosen ;  at  the  same  time  declining  complimentary  and  enticing 
calls  in  every  direction,  most  any  one  of  which  would  have 
been  advantageous  to  his  reputation  and  fame.  He  was  called 
to  the  South  Carolina  College ;  to  the  editorial  chair  of  a  Pres- 
byterian newspaper  in  New  York,  at  the  urgent  request  of 
leading  ministers;  to  the  College  at  Danville,  Kentucky;  to 
Union  Theological  Seminary;  to  the  Theological  Seminary  at 
Columbia ;  to  a  College  in  Indiana ;  to  Magee  College.  Add  to 
this  that  a  professional  life  was  always  his  choice,  to  which  all 
his  tastes  and  studies  led  him ;  and  that  the  professorship 
most  consonant  to  his  studies  was  pressed  upon  him  by  Dr. 
Thornwell  and  many  other  brethren — and  what  a  sacrifice  of 
reputation  was  made  on  the  altar  of  duty.  He  felt  that  Provi- 
dence had  not  opened  wide  the  door  for  him,  and  he  would 
not  climb  up  some  other  way,  for  the  sake  of  reputation,  and 
leave  a  post  of  duty  and  of  danger,  where  he  had  been  set  for 
the  defense  of  the  gospel,  and  as  a  standard-bearer  of  the 
Church  in  a  season  of  perilous  strife.  "My  congregation," 
said  he,  "was  isolated  from  others,  and  had  to  stand  against 
much  public  opprobrium.  Therefore  I  determined  to  live  and 
die  with  my  people,  unless  Providence  opened  a  wide  door, 
and  forcibly  and  fairly  ejected  me." 

As  a  minister,  he  was  profoundly  theological,  yet  thoroughly 
practical.  As  a  churchman,  he  was  as  thoroughly  denomina- 
tional as  he  was  catholic.  He  would  go  to  the  stake  for  Cal- 
vinism* or  Presbtyerianism,  and,  on  the  way  to  martyrdom, 
he  would  gather  faggots  to  burn  bigots  and  sectaries.  As  a 
philanthropist,  he  would  reform  the  evils  of  society,  with  an 
almost  iconoclastic  severity,  while,  like  the  tender  and  com- 
passionate Saviour,  he  visited  the  widow  and  the  fatherless 
with  a  sympathetic  heart  and  tearful  eye. 

*See  Appendix,  p.  813,  XV. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  793 

As  a  public  speaker,  he  was  singularly  cool  and  self- 
possessed  ;  yet  he  said,  "this  has  been  only  to  a  certain  extent 
real,  and  to  no  extent  natural  or  constant.  I  was  originally 
very  diffident,  and  was  punished  for  my  embarrassment  at 
school.  In  my  early  attempts  at  prayer,  I  wrote  and  com- 
mitted. In  my  efforts  at  speaking  and  debating,  I  have  been 
so  disconcerted  as  to  lose  all  presence  of  mind."  He  never 
rose  to  speak,  even  at  prayer-meeting,  without  solicitude  and 
nervous  trepidation,  and  never  trusted  himself;  on  any  occa- 
sion, to  speak  without  preparation  when  it  could  possibly  be 
avoided. 

As  a  student  and  author,  he  said  of  himself,  "I  am  a  living 
proof  that  tastes  and  inclination  may  be  modified,  and  the 
mind  made  to  give  itself  wholly  and  with  delight  to  whatever 
course  of  study  circumstances  may  render  advisable  or  neces- 
sary. I  became  enthusiastic  in  antiquarian  and  historic  lore; 
again,  in  physical  science ;  again,  in  controversial  discussion ; 
again,  in  exegetical  study  and  in  practical  and  didactic  dis- 
course ;  and  always,  and  most  con  amore  in  mental  and  moral 
philosophy;  and  always  in  poetical  literature  and  belles-lettres. 
I  feel  that  I  could  now  engage  in  any  one  branch  of  study  with 
interest  and  enjoyment.  With  God's  help,  therefore,  a  man 
can  become  what  he  ought  to  be,  and  what  the  demands  of  the 
age,  of  Providence  and  of  the  Church  require." 

Hence,  he  could  turn  with  marvellous  ease  from  scholastic 
studies  and  dry  discussions,  to  finish  a  sacramental  discourse, 
or  memorize  a  page  of  poetry. 

The  most  prominent  trait  of  his  character,  that  which  most 
distinguished  him  from  ordinary  men — that,  without  which 
Dr.  Smyth  could  not  have  been — was  an  indomitable  ivill,  that 
was  never  conquered  save  by  the  Omnipotent  Being  who  made 
him.  He  never  interpreted  any  apparently  insurmountable 
obstacle,  or  appalling  danger,  as  a  providential  call  to  lay  down 
his  arms  and  retire  from  the  field.  Difficulties  never  terrified 
him.  Opposition  only  goaded  his  determination  to  more  reso- 
lute and  persevering  endeavor ;  and  the  greater  the  odds 
against  him,  the  higher  would  his  courage  rise  to  do  all,  and  to 
dare  all  for  the  vindication  of  his  principles.  This  giant  will, 
that  was  never  shorn  of  its  locks,  that  laughed  at  impossibili- 


794  IN  MEMORIAM. 

ties,  that  mocked  at  disease  and  suffering,  inspired  him  with 
untiring  industry  and  unflagging  energy.  He  often  remarked 
that  the  will  can  conquer  pain,  and  command  the  shattered 
nerves  to  hold  their  peace.  On  one  occasion,  when  the  night 
was  dark  and  inclement,  and  his  whole  frame  writhing  with 
agony,  he  assumed  a  posture  of  defiance,  and  emphasizing  his 
words  with  his  crutch,  while  his  chamber  rung  with  the  echo, 
he  rose  with  determination,  declaring  that  he  would  not  "stand 
it  any  longer."  Pushing  out  into  the  dismal  darkness,  against 
the  earnest  remonstrances  of  the  members  of  his  household, 
he  returned,  after  several  hours  of  gymnastic  exercise,  and 
exclaimed,  with  an  air  of  triumph:  "I  told  you  so.  Any  man 
may  subdue  pain,  if  he  only  has  the  will  to  do  it." 

Few  men  would  have  so  valued  life,  or  regarded  the  obliga- 
tion to  prolong  existence,  as  to  have  endured  one-half  the 
trouble  and  sacrifice  it  cost  him  to  live  on  from  day  to  day. 
Sometimes  when  looking  upon  his  "poor  impoverished  limbs, 
and  almost  formless  frame,  he  felt  he  ought  to  be  in  the 
grave,  buried  out  of  sight;"  the  struggle  for  life  seemed  utterly 
hopeless  and  equally  undesirable.  But  the  feeling  of  gloom 
was  only  momentary,  like  the  shadow  of  a  passing  cloud,  and 
applying  again  and  more  vigorously  the  spur  and  the  whip  of 
resolution,  he  roused  his  lagging  spirit,  and  the  old  war-horse 
was  again  shaking  the  dusty  plains  with  his  crippled,  but  iron- 
shod  energies. 

Living  as  he  did  for  so  many  years,  a  mechanical  existence, 
artificially  supported,  his  life  exhibits  the  most  remarkable 
instance  which  we  have  ever  known,  of  the  sublime  triumph 
of  mind  over  matter — of  the  indwelling  spirit  over  the  exter- 
nal body.  Here  is  a  problem  for  the  materialist ;  a  mysterious 
exception  to  the  theory  that  mind  is  the  result  of  organization, 
and  depends  for  its  vigor  and  energy  upon  bodily  health  and 
strength. 

When  he  lost  the  use  of  his  limbs,  he  still  continued  to  take 
his  daily  rides,  being  lifted  into  and  out  of  his  carriage ;  and, 
propped  up  in  his  old  study-chair,  he  was  still  surrounded  with 
all  the  leading  papers  and  magazines  of  the  day,  both  of 
American  and  European  publication.  He  kept  fully  abreast 
of  the  age,  and  up  to  the  last  hour  of  his  life,  he  could  have 


IN  MEMORIAM.  790 

traced  out  a  complete  map  of  modern  thought,  with  all  its 
broad  currents  and  tributary  streams. 

On  the  Sabbath  afternoon  we  accompanied  him  in  his  last 
daily  ride,  towards  the  setting  sun,  heaven  seemed  to  be  imaged 
in  the  still  water,  and  green  fields,  and  the  dying  believer  in 

"The  western  evening  light, 
That  melts  in  deepening  gloom." 

He  seldom  spoke;  his  soul  seemed  rapt  in  heavenly  com- 
munion. It  was  evident  that  the  great  and  good  man  was 
rapidly  ripening  for  heaven.  Having  "brought  forth  fruit  in 
old  age,"  he  was  ready  to  be  gathered  as  a  "shock  of  corn  fully 
ripe."  The  days  of  controversy  were  over.  He  had  "fought 
the  good  fight"  for  himself,  and  for  the  Church  he  loved, 
against  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil.  He  had  "finished 
his  course — the  race  that  was  set  before  him."  He  had 
"endured  hardness  as  a  good  soldier."  He  had  fought  his 
last  battle,  and  while  waiting  for  his  "crown  of  righteousness," 
he  had  nothing  to  do  but  lie  passively  in  the  hands  of  the 
Spirit,  and  let  Him  finish  the  "workmanship  of  His  grace." 
How  sweetly,  fragrantly,  and  beautifully  the  passive  virtues 
of  humility,  meekness,  patience  and  submission,  unfolded 
during  these  mellow,  autumnal  days ! 

Only  once  did  he  summon  his  wasting  energies  to  urge  upon 
his  youthful  successor,  fidelity  to  the  Church,  which  was  his 
first  and  only  love,  and  for  which  he  had  sacrificed  all  that  he 
had  to  give.  For  forty  years,  he  had  planted  and  reaped  in 
this  field  which  the  Lord  had  continually  blessed,  so  that  "seed 
time  and  harvest"  had  never  failed.  Frequently  revived  by 
copious  and  refreshing  showers  of  grace,  the  Church  was 
enlarged  almost  every  communion  season,  with  regular  acces- 
sions. Since  the  beginning  of  his  own  ministry,  in  1832,  he 
had  received  more  than  five  hundred  additions,  many  of  whom 
are  now  useful  ministers  of  the  gospel. 

During  the  period  from  1832  to  1846,  there  were  added 
three  hundred  and  fifty-four  white,  and  one  hundred  colored 
members,  of  whom  nine  became  ruling  elders  and  seven 
entered  the  ministry. 

Well  might  he  say,  on  reviewing  his  long  and  laborious  life: 
"I  rejoice  that  I  have  lived  and  labored.     The  contest  is  the 


796  IN  MEMORIAM. 

same  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  time.  One  is  the  war- 
fare, the  issue,  the  combatants,  the  victory,  the  results,  and  the 
everlasting  glory.  I  rejoice  to  have  mingled  in  it,  and  have 
been  a  soldier  in  the  army  of  Immanuel.  I  have  fought  under 
His  banner  and  eye,  and  for  His  crown  and  covenant .  My 
name  is  upon  the  roll-book  of  heaven's  heraldry,  and  will  not 
be  forgotten  in  the  great  muster  day  when  the  roll  shall  be 
called,  and  every  man  shall  spring  forth  from  his  gory  bed,  on 
some  embattled  field,  in  the  distant  ages,  and  in  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth.  To  have  been  a  private  in  some  regiment, 
to  have  fought  and  fallen  in  some  battle  for  the  truth,  will 
insure  an  immortality  of  fame.  But  to  have  won  the  hearts 
of  some  brave  and  loyal  company,  to  have  drawn  them  to 
himself,  to  Christ,  and  to  one  another,  to  have  united  them 
with  love  to  Christ,  and  inspired  them  with  zeal  and  devotion 
to  His  cause,  to  have  marshalled  them  among  the  sacramental 
host  of  God's  elect,  to  have  led  them  to  the  high  places  of  the 
field,  to  have  shared  their  dangers  and  privation,  and  been  an 
example  of  sufi^ering  and  patience,  to  have  fallen  at  their  head 
with  the  sword  of  the  Spirit  in  his  hand  and  his  face  to  the 
foe,  and  words  of  victory  and  cheer  upon  his  tongue — this  is 
glory  enough  for  any  man.  Surveying  thus  the  whole  history 
of  this  mysterious  warfare,  as  I  shall  one  day  from  heaven's 
Mount  of  Vision,  I  feel  that  the  past,  the  present,  and  the 
future,  are  alike  interesting  to  me,  and  that  I  am  alike  inter- 
ested in  each.  It  is  one,  and  the  glory,  the  grandeur  of  the 
whole,  and  the  everlasting  blessedness  resulting  from  it  are 
mine  as  much  as  they  are  another's.  I  shall  soon  die  and  my 
works  too.  But  I  shall  not  all  die,  nor  all  of  them.  They  are 
among  the  links  in  the  chain  of  consequences,  and  the  proces- 
sion of  effects.  The  effects  may  abide  when  the  causes  are 
extinct.  The  harvest  may  multiply  when  the  original  has 
perished.  As  I  look  back  upon  the  past,  I  rejoice  that  a  place 
has  been  given  me  among  the  ranks  of  Messiah's  friends.  As 
I  look  forward  to  the  future,  I  rejoice  that  His  cause  is 
onward  and  triumphant.  His  kingdom  everlasting,  and  that  I 
shall  have  a  glorious  part  in  His  inheritance  among  the  saints 
in  light." 


IN  M15M0RIAM.  797 

On  the  third  day  after  he  was  prostrated  by  the  fatal  dis- 
ease, his  sorrowing  family  and  friends  were  called  to  stand 
beside  his  dying  bed.  They  had  laid  him  upon  the  couch  of 
suffering,  expecting  that  the  tide  of  life  would  gradually  ebb 
away,  as  the  disease  of  dropsy  slowly  rose  from  his  lower 
limbs  toward  the  vital  organs.  But  he  had  retired  only  to 
compose  himself  for  his  final  sleep.  His  hard,  spasmodic 
breathing,  plainly  showed  that  the  disease  was  pressing  upon 
his  lungs.  His  suffering  was  not  acute,  but  of  that  peculiar, 
indescribable  kind,  which  proceeds  from  gradual  suffocation. 
No  part  of  his  wasted,  tortured  body  seemed  to  escape  the 
ravages  of  disease  but  the  unclouded  brain,  from  which  the 
broad,  bright  disc  of  his  intellect  shone  out,  like  the  setting  sun 
from  a  clear  sky.  He  did  not  seem  to  realize  that  he  was  so 
near  his  end.  He  never  spoke  of  death,  save  to  remind  his 
family  and  friends  that  he  was  "leaning  on  the  arm  of  his 
Beloved,"  and  that  the  dark  valley  had  no  terrors  for  him. 
His  last  effort  to  speak  was  to  dictate  a  message  to  his  beloved 
people.  He  fell  asleep,  bearing  them  upon  his  heart ;  and  on 
the  wings  of  his  departing  spirit,  he  bore  them  to  the  bosom 
of  his  God.  No  act  of  his  life  was  more  positive  than  that  of 
obeying  the  order  of  his  Great  Captain  to  put  off  his  armor, 
and  go  up  to  receive  his  crown.  He  never  marched  more 
soldierly  to  the  field  of  battle,  than  he  passed  from  the  Church 
militant  to  the  Church  triumphant. 

"The  faith  was  kept,  the  course  was  run, 
The  final  victory  grandly  won, 

And  now  the  King 
Doth  grace  that  brow,  all  seamed  with  scars. 
With  wondrous  crown  of  many  stars. 

While  anthems  ring." 

His  best  epitaph  is  his  favorite  texts,  which  were  quoted  at 
his  funeral : 

"I  have  fought  a  good  fight;  I  have  finished  my  course;  I 
have  kept  the  faith ;  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown 
of  life." 

"Well  done  good  and  faithful  servant,  enter  thou  into  the 
joy  of  thy  Lord." 

Dr.  Smyth  had  his  faults  and  imperfections  (and  who  has 
not?),  but  they  were  like  spots  on  the  sun.     They  who  view 


798  IN  MEMORIAM. 

a  great  and  good  life  through  the  smoky  glass  of  prejudice, 
or  the  magnifying  glass  of  envy,  will  discover  in  the  holiest 
of  saints,  who  at  best  are  but  partially  sanctified,  glaring 
defects  and  disfigurements.  But  they  who  look  at  men  as 
they  look  at  the  sun,  to  enjoy  its  light  and  the  objects  of  beauty 
it  reveals,  will  find  what  we  have  feebly  attempted  to  por- 
tray— the  glorious  image  of  Christ,  and  the  precious  fruits  of 
His  spirit.  They  will  see  that  love  to  Jesus  was  the  keynote 
of  the  life,  character,  and  labors  of  this  wonderful  man. 

Those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  science  of  music,  are 
aware  that  the  grandest,  harmonic  designs,  are  the  result  of 
the  skillful  combination  of  discordant  sounds.  This  analogy 
may  help  us  to  understand  how  all  the  harsh  and  grating  dis- 
cords of  the  christian's  militant  life,  may  be  justified  to  the 
ear  of  faith,  as  they  are  made  to  "work  together"  for  the  good 
of  the  believer,  himself,  and  to  the  Church  for  which  he 
labored  and  suffered.  We  estimate  the  merits  of  our  great 
Church  instrument,  not  by  drawing  out  a  few  unmusical  stops, 
and  pressing  a  few  noisy  pedals,  but  by  "putting  on  the  full 
organ,"  and  listening  to  the  blended  harmony. 

There  are  some  lives  that  are  like  a  sweet  psalm,  breathing 
from  a  well-tuned  harp.  They  have  their  mission,  but  not 
like  that  of  Calvin  and  Luther.  There  are  others  whose  lives, 
with  all  their  varied  and  opposing  aspects,  resemble  a  full 
orchestra,  or  band  of  music,  with  its  blast  of  trumpets,  and 
roaring  drums,  and  clashing  cymbals,  as  they  grandly  har- 
monize with  the  softer,  sweeter  instruments.  Such  are  the 
lives  with  which  Jehovah  leads  on  the  sacramental  host  to 
battle  and  to  victory.  As  we  stand  by  the  grave  of  this  sleep- 
ing warrior,  let  our  eyes  take  in  the  full-orbed  character,  and 
our  ears  be  filled  with  the  blended  harmony  of  the  entire  life. 

We  cannot  better  close  these  remarks  than  by  quoting  his 
own  conception  of  the  true  end  and  value  of  life : 

"To  feel  that  to  live  is  Christ ;  to  be  so  united  to  Christ  that 
His  work  is  our  work ;  His  will,  our  will ;  His  sufferings, 
death,  and  sacrifice,  ours :  His  self-denial,  love,  and  charity, 
ours ;  His  kingdom,  triumph,  and  glory,  ours ;  to  feel  that  to 
spend  and  be  spent  in  His  service,  to  be  instant  in  season  and 
out  of  season,  in  winning  souls  to  Christ — is  our  life;  to  feel 


IN  MEMORIAM.  799 

that  pain  is  pleasure,  weariness  rest,  tribulation  glory,  and 
death  gain,  when  endured  as  good  soldiers  of  Christ ;  this  is 
to  shine  with  a  glory  which  death  itself  shall  not  eclipse,  but, 
which  rising  in  a  higher  dawn,  in  a  better  land,  in  a  hemi- 
sphere encircled  by  the  eternal  hills,  watered  by  the  river  of 
life,  and  luxuriant  as  the  Paradise  of  God,  shall  shine  more 
and  more  throughout  the  unending  day  of  our  ever  brightening 
immortality." 


APPENDIX. 


I.— See  Vol.  VII,  pp.  5-439,  Smyth's  Works.     There  will  be 
found  a  comprehensive  series  of  articles  on  Missions. 


II.— See  Smyth's  Works,  Vol.  VII,  p.  371 :  "The  Conversion 
of  the  World ;"  p.  13 :  "Faith  the  Principle  of  Missions ;"  p. 
95 :  "Obedience  the  Life  of  Missions." 


III.— See  Vol.  VII,  p.  329,  Smyth's  Works :  "The  Duty  of 
Interesting  Children  in  the  Missionary  Cause,  in  three  chap- 
ters, with  an  appendix  giving  an  account  of  juvenile  effort  for 
Missions,  an  appeal  to  the  universities,  and  four  poems." 


IV.— See  Vol.  V,  p.  529,  Smyth's  Works.  The  address 
here  given  on :  "Denominational  Education,  Its  Necessity  and 
Practicability,  Especially  as  it  Regards  Colleges,"  was  deliv- 
ered by  Dr.  Smyth  before  the  Thalian  and  Phi-Delta  Societies 
of  Oglethorpe  University,  November  12,  1845. 


v.— See  Vol.  V,  p.  193,  Smyth's  Works. 

A  second  edition  of  "The  Claims  of  the  Free  Church  of 
Scotland"  was  printed  in  New  York  and  London.  This  was 
reprinted  in  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  with  preface  by  Dr,  John 
G.  Lorimer. 


VI.— See  Vol.  VIII,  p.  5,  Smyth's  Works. 

The  Edinburgh  edition  of  "The  Unity  of  the  Human 
Races,"  as  revised  and  enlarged  by  the  author  from  the 
American  edition,  is  there  given  with  introductory  letters  and 
opinions  of  the  press. 

In  regard  to  the  publication  of  this  work  the  following  letter 
was  received  by  Dr.  Smyth  from  Dr.  James  McCosh : 

Brechin,  September,  1851. 
My  Dear  Sir  :  I  have  often  been  wondering,  during  the 
past  year,  what  was  become  of  the  proposed  republication  of 


IN  MEMORIAM.  801 

your  excellent  work  on  the  human  races.  I  applied  to  our 
mutual  friend,  Professor  Gibson,  in  May  last,  for  informa- 
tion, but  he  could  give  me  nothing  specific.  I  am  glad  to 
learn,  from  yourself,  that  it  is  now  on  the  point  of  shewing 
its  face  before  the  British  public. 

If  I  thought  that  no  other  party  was  pre-engaged  for  the 
work,  I  would  offer  to  the  editor  to  write  a  notice  of  your 
work  in  the  Free  Church  Magazine.  I  will  also  notice  it  in 
our  local  paper.  I  lent  your  work  to  the  Free  Church  Pro- 
fessor of  Divinity  and  to  a  minister  in  Aberdeen,  both  of 
whom  were  greatly  delighted  with  it,  and  thought  it  very  satis- 
factory. 

I  have  not  been  gratified  v^ith  anything  in  connection  with 
my  work  so  much  as  with  the  reception  it  has  met  with  in 
America.  I  am  under  deep  obligations  to  you  for  helping  me 
to  a  favorable  introduction  to  the  United  States. 

I  should  like  to  be  able  to  complete  my  work — by  a  treatise 
on  the  Divine  Government,  Spiritual  and  Supernatural.  But 
I  fear  I  may  never  be  able  to  write  more  than  fragments  of  it. 
The  subject  is  not  only  vast,  but  very  recondite.  An  article 
on  Typical  Forms,  in  the  last  number  of  the  North  British 
Review,  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  fragments. 

In  this  country  there  is  a  strong  current  set  in  towards 
materialism  or  materialistic  views  of  everything — opposed  to 
this — we  have  only  in  the  present  day  a  metaphysics  of  high 
pretensions  proceeding  from  many,  which,  while  it  exercises 
an  amazing  power  over  a  few  minds,  sends  back  the  majority 
of  British  Physicists  to  materialism.  I  long  most  earnestly 
to  be  able  to  help  to  set  the  British  public  right  by  a  work  on 
the  Method  of  Induction  Applied  to  the  Human  Mind.  But — 
but — but,  life  is  short,  and  the  most  of  my  life  is  necessarily 
taken  up  with  pastoral  work. 

I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  from  you  when  at  any  time  you  have 
a  leisure  half  hour.     Meanwhile,  I  am. 

Yours  truly, 
Rev.  Dr.  Smyth :  James  McCosh, 

Following  the  publication  of  this  work  on  "The  Unity  of 
the  Human  Races"  most  complimentary  letters  were  received 

51— Vol.  X. 


802  IN  MEMORIAM, 

from:  Drs.  James  McCosh,  Alexander  Duff,  Wm.  Cunning- 
ham, Robt.  S.  Candlish,  H.  Cooke,  Robert  Halley,  Leonard 
Bacon,  R.  G.  Latham,  David  Brown,  J.  H.  Fowles,  J.  G.  Lori- 
mer,  J.  Pye  Smith,  and  other  well  known  men  of  letters  of 
the  day. 


VIL — In  1836  Dr.  Smyth  published  his  first  work,  which 
was  followed  in  rapid  succession  by  some  thirty  volumes,  and 
seventy  pamphlets,  besides  a  large  number  of  sermons,  dis- 
courses and  orations,  which  were  delivered  on  special  occa- 
sions. 

Many  of  these  works  have  been  republished  in  Great 
Britain,  and  endorsed  as  of  the  highest  value  by  eminent  men 
on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  Some  of  them  are  regarded 
as  theological  classics,  without  which  no  minister's  library 
would  be  complete. 


VIIL — See  work  on  "Apostolical  Succession,"  Vol.  I,  p.  1, 
Smyth's  Works ;  "Presbytery  and  Not  Prelacy,"  Vol.  II,  p.  1, 
Smyth's  Works;  and  "Ecclesiastical  Republicanism,"  Vol.  Ill, 
p.  1. 

It  was  in  consequence  of  these  works  that  Dr.  Smyth 
received  a  unanimous  invitation,  through  Dr.  Snodgrass,  from 
Drs.  Spring,  McElroy,  Carter  and  others  to  come  to  New  York 
and  establish  a  distinctive  Presbyterian  paper  as  the  editor. 

See,  also,  the  character  given  to  this  work  by  Dr.  King,  of 
Glasgow,  in  his  work  on  "Ruling  Elders  and  Deacons,"  by 
Principal  Campbell,  of  Aberdeen,  in  his  work  on  "Ruling 
Elders ;"  by  Dr.  Dorg  and  others. 


IX. — The  Rev.  Saml.  Miller,  D.  D.,  professor  in  the  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  Princeton,  expressed  his  sincere  regard  and 
admiration  for  the  author  and  his  works,  as  follows : 

"I  have  read  the  volume  entitled  'Presbytery  and  Not  Pre- 
lacy the  Scriptural  and  Primitive  Polity,'  etc.,  with  unfeigned 
and  high  pleasure ;  and  although  not  able  to  acquiesce  in  every 
opinion  and  statement  which  it  contains,  yet  I  consider  it,  in 
its  great  outline,  as  clear,  learned,  powerful,  and  altogether 


IN  MEMORIAM.  803 

conclusive  in  the  refutation  of  Prelacy  and  establishment  of 
Presbyterianism.  It  takes  a  more  comprehensive  and  com- 
plete view  of  the  whole  controversy  than  is  to  be  found  in 
any  other  single  volume  with  which  I  am  acquainted,  and 
appears  to  me  to  be  eminently  adapted  to  be  useful,  and  well 
worthy  of  the  thanks  and  patronage  of  every  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  It  is  eminently  a  learned  work.  The 
author  has  not  suffered  himself  to  write,  as  too  many  of  the 
ignorant  and  arrogant  advocates  of  the  sect  which  he  opposes 
have  done,  without  an  acquaintance  with  more  than  his  own 
side  of  the  question.  I  doubt  whether  there  is  another  indi- 
vidual in  the  United  States  who  has  read  so  extensively  on 
this  subject,  and  especially  who  has  made  himself  so  familiar 
with  the  works  of  the  highest  and  best  authorities  of  the  Epis- 
copal denomination.  Mr.  Smyth  is  undoubtedly  entitled  to 
the  character  of  an  able  advocate  and  benefactor  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church.  With  regard  to  every  important  Episcopal 
claim,  he  has  not  only  shown  that  it  has  no  support  whatever 
in  the  word  of  God,  but  that  it  has  been  given  up  as  untenable 
by  the  most  learned  and  venerable  authorities  among  Pre- 
latists  themselves. 

"With  regard  to  the  second  work,  of  smaller  size,  by  the 
same  author,  entitled  'Ecclesiastical  Republicanism,'  it  merits 
the  same  general  character  with  its  larger  companion.  It  is 
learned  and  ample  in  its  compass,  forcible  in  its  reasoning, 
and  perfectly  unanswerable  in  its  statements  and  conclusions. 

These  works  cannot  fail  of  making  a  deep  impression  on  all 
minds  capable  of  estimating  the  weight  of  either  authority  or 
argument.  Every  Presbyterian  minister  in  the  United  States 
ought  to  feel  himself  a  debtor  to  the  author." 

Princeton,  July  20,  1838. 

Reverend  and  Dear  Brother  :  Yours  of  the  18th  ult. 
reached  me  on  the  25th. 

I  feel  really  indebted  to  you,  my  dear  sir,  for  your  sugges- 
tions respecting  the  supply  of  manuals  for  the  use  of  our 
young  people.  Every  one  that  you  propose  is  much  needed, 
and,  if  well  executed,  would  be,  I  have  no  doubt,  eminently 
useful. 


804  IN  MEMORIAM. 

That  /  should  undertake  all,  or  even  the  greater  part  of  the 
four  you  have  proposed,  is  out  of  the  question.  If  my  life 
and  health  be  spared,  I  will  think  seriously  of  undertaking  the 
first  that  you  speak  of — viz.,  a  "Historical  Catechism."  The 
rest,  you  ought,  in  my  opinion,  to  undertake  yourself.  I 
know  of  nobody  else  likely,  or  disposed,  or  qualified  to  do  the 
work.  As  you  cannot  do  them  all  at  once,  I  would  propose, 
and  respectfully  urge,  that,  as  soon  as  you  receive  this  letter, 
you  should  immediately  go  to  work  in  preparing  the  second 
work  that  you  mention,  viz.,  an  "Ecclesiastical  Catechism," 
on  the  plan  you  suggest.  I  think  such  a  work  would  be  of 
incalculable  use. 

All  of  my  associates  here  are  such  busy  men,  that  I  have  no 
hope  of  any  one  of  them  undertaking  any  one  of  these  works. 
I  earnestly  wish  you,  without  delay,  to  set  about  the  task  I 
have  assigned  to  you.  I  believe  it  will  not  be  done,  unless 
you  undertake  it.  The  Rev.  Dr.  McLeod,  of  New  York,  pub- 
lished an  "Ecclesiastical  Catechism,"*  which,  if  you  wish  for 
it,  can  be  had  at  any  time  in  the  book  stores  of  that  city.  It 
is  a  thin  duodecimo,  of  120  or  150  pages. 

When  you  have  finished  No.  II,  which  appears  to  me  most 
urgently  in  demand,  you  can  then  go  on  to  Nos.  Ill  and  IV,t 
which  I  hope  you  will  undertake  and  complete  in  two  or  three 
years.  Compends  of  this  kind  require  to  be  executed  slowly 
and  with  care. 

I  fully  agree  with  you,  my  dear  sir,  in  deprecating  "Ortho- 
dox dictators,"  as  well  as  "heretical  radicals."  May  we  be 
saved  from  both. 

*See  Vol.  IV,  p.  437,  Smyth's  Works :  "An  Ecclesiastical  Catechism  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  for  the  Use  of  Families,  Bible  Classes  and  Private 
Members." 

Evidence  of  the  cordial  reception  accorded  Dr.  Smyth's  "Ecclesiastical 
Catechism,"  prepared  by  request  of  Dr.  Miller,  is  the  fact  that  three  editions 
of  the  work  were  published  in  this  country.  Regarding  the  fourth  edition, 
printed  in  Belfast,  the  following  notice  is  given  : 

"As  an  evidence  of  the  justice  of  our  commendation  of  this  useful 
manual  for  the  young,  we  would  mention  that  the  fourth  edition  is  now 
issued  for  sale  in  this  city.  We  also  find  the  following  notice  in  'The 
Banner  of  Ulster,'  published  in  Belfast,  Ireland :  Also  in  the  press  will 
shortly  be  published  a  new  stereotype  edition  of  'An  Ecclesiastical  Cate- 
chism of  the  Presbyterian  Church.'  by  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  the 
Second  Presbyterian  church,  Charleston,  S.  C.  Revised  and  improved,  with 
an  introductory  essay  by  W.  D.  Killian.  D.  D.,  Belfast,  and  recommended 
by  Dr.  Edgar  Cooke  and  Rev.  James  Morgan,  Belfast,  10  Church  street. 
December  12,  1943." 

tin.  An  edition  of  the  Confession  of  Faith,  with  Historical  Introduction 
and  Notes.  IV.  An  Exposition  of  the  Confession  of  Faith  After  the 
Manner  of  Bishop  Bennet. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  805 

Hoping  to  hear  from  you  when  convenient,  I  am,  Revd.  and 
Dear  Sir,  affectionately  your  brother,  Saml.  Miller. 


X. — To  the  testimony  of  Dr.  Miller  is  to  be  added  the 
remarkable  opinion  given  by  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  when, 
in  view  of  advancing  years,  he  was  by  his  own  consent  trans- 
ferred to  the  professorship  of  Church  Government  and  Pas- 
toral Theology,  Princeton,  he  decided  to  introduce  Dr.  Smyth's 
work  as  a  textbook.  He  attached  so  much  importance  to  the 
fact  that  on  his  death-bed  he  expressed  a  wish  that  his  son, 
Dr.  James  Alexander,  of  New  York,  should  communicate  with 
Dr.  Smyth.     Dr.  Smyth  duly  received  the  following  letter : 

New  York,  November  11,  1851. 

Rev.  and  Dear  Sir:  My  sole  purpose  in  writing  is  to  com- 
municate a  remark  made  to  me  by  my  father  on  his  dying  bed. 

"When  I  found  Church  Government  on  my  hands,"  said  he, 
"I  looked  around  for  a  textbook,  and,  on  examining  the  others, 
settled  on  Dr.  Smyth's  Presbytery  and  Not  Prelacy  as  the  best 
and  determined  to  introduce  it  at  once."  I  think  he  added: 
"I  wish  Dr.  Smyth  to  know  this." 

I  hope  you  are  better ;  I  have  been  much  indisposed. 
Regards  to  Mrs.  Smyth  and  the  boys. 

Yours  fraternally,  J.  W.  Alexander. 

Dr.  Addison  Alexander  also  expressed  to  Dr.  Smyth  a  simi- 
lar opinion.  "Dr.  Smyth,  let  it  be  encouragement  to  you,"  he 
said,  "to  know  that  your  works  will  be  much  more  highly 
prized  by  posterity  than  at  the  present  time."  Dr.  McGill, 
who  succeeded  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander  in  the  professorship 
of  Church  Government  at  Princeton,  told  Dr.  Smyth  that  he 
was  prevented  from  making  the  work  his  textbook  only  by  its 
high  price  and  scarcity. 


XL— See  Smyth's  Works,  Vol.  VIII,  p.  395 :  "The  Well  in 
the  Valley;"  Vol.  VIII,  p.  669:  "Why  Do  I  Live?"  and  Vol. 
VII,  pp.  5-439,  on  Missions. 


XII. — Dr.  Smyth  was  one  of  the  prominent  members  of  the 
British  and  American  Associations  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science. 


806  IN  MEMORIAM, 

XIII. — In  1847,  when  present  as  a  member  of  the  governing 
body  of  Princeton  College,  N.  J.,  Dr.  Saml.  Miller  made  a 
speech  setting  forth  the  merits  of  Dr.  Smyth's  three  first 
works:  1.  On  Apostolic  Succession;  2.  Presbytery  and  Not 
Prelacy ;  3.  Ecclesiastical  Republicanism ;  and  moved  that  they 
should  confer  on  him  the  degree  of  D.  D.,  and  that  they  should 
also,  in  view  of  the  high  character  and  learning  of  these  works, 
waive  the  rule  requiring  an  interval  between  a  motion  for  and 
the  actual  conferring  of  a  degree,  which  they  did  and  at  once 
conferred  the  degree.  Before  leaving  the  room  Dr.  Miller 
wrote  Dr.  Smyth  the  following  letter  (a  copy  from  the  origi- 
nal in  Dr.  Smyth's  Autobiography)  : 

Princeton,  September  26,  1843. 
My  Dear  Brother:  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  inform 
you,  that  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey 
have  this  day  conferred  on  you  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity.  I  write  this  hasty  line  sitting  in  the  board,  and  am 
unfeignedly  gratified  in  announcing  it.  In  great  haste, 
Sincerely  and  affectionately  yours. 

Same.  Miller. 

Copies  of  letters  received  from  Dr.  James  Carnahan  and 
Joseph  Smith  are  also  given : 

Princeton,  N.  J.,  September  28,  1843. 
To  the  Reverend  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 

Dear  Sir  :  I  have  the  pleasure  to  inform  you  that  the  Trus- 
tees of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  by  an  unanimous  vote,  have 
conferred  on  you  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  in  consid- 
eration of  your  attainments  in  theological  learning  and  of  your 
labors  in  the  cause  of  truth  and  righteousness.  With  great 
respect. 

Yours  in  christian  bonds, 

James  Carnahan, 
President  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey. 
(President  of  Princeton  College  from  1823  to  1843.) 

Patterson,  N.  J.,  September  28,  1843. 
Dear  Brother:  Mr.  Colt  has  just  returned  from  Princeton 
and  requests  me  to  write  that  you  were  yesterday  made  a  D.  D. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  807 

It  requires  six  months'  notice  before  the  honor  can  be  con- 
ferred, according  to  the  ordinary  rules,  but  in  the  present 
instance  these  were  suspended. 

Mr.  Colt  made  the  motion,  which  was  seconded  by  Dr. 
Miller,  who  took  occasion  to  remark  that  no  degree  had  been 
more  honourably  conferred  for  the  past  twenty  years.  It  was 
then  passed  Nem.  Con.  (Signed)  Joseph  Smith. 


XIV. — At  a  meeting  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church, 
held  on  Sunday,  2Tth  November,  1870,  the  following  letter 
was  presented : 

Charleston,  S.  C,  November  18,  1870. 
To  the  Session  and  Male  Pewholders  of  the  Second  Presby- 
terian Church. 

My  Dear  Brethren:  About  this  time  in  November,  1831, 
I  arrived  in  Charleston  from  Princeton  Theological  Seminary, 
in  accordance  with  an  invitation  from  you  to  preach  in  your 
then  vacant  church. 

In  April,  of  the  following  year,  I  received  a  unanimous  call 
to  remain  with  you  and  become  your  pastor.  Since  that  time 
I  have  lived  and  labored  among  you  as  the  spiritual  bride  of 
my  youth,  being  then  twenty-three  years  of  age,  in  all  mutual 
love  and  assiduity  of  devoted  service  to  promote  your  pros- 
perity and  happiness.  We  have  seen  together  many  seasons 
of  deep  affliction  and  bereavement.  Of  the  seven  hundred 
and  seventy-one  members  added  to  the  church  during  my  min- 
istry, but  a  few  abide  in  the  flesh,  or  remain  with  us.  Of  a 
glorious  company  of  them — fathers,  mothers,  and  children — 
we  can  rejoice  in  believing  that  they  are  now  members  of  the 
Church  triumphant  in  heaven,  with  the  four  beloved  pastors 
and  all  their  flock  who  had  preceded  them. 

We  have  had,  too,  our  many  times  of  refreshing  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord,  when  songs  of  rejoicing  over  new  born 
souls  have  been  heard  in  our  assemblies  and  dwellings,  and 
among  the  angels  of  God.  We  have  had  also  the  happiness 
of  seeing  our  church  spread  her  roots,  and  spring  up  in  vigor- 
ous trees,  and  impart  life  to  many  other  churches  throughout 
the  land.  And  our  church  is  still  showing  the  signs  not  only 
of  leaves,  but  of  buds  and  fruits,  springing  up  after  the  howl- 


808  IN  MEMORIAM. 

ing  wintry  desolation  of  war,  and  various  trials  and  losses, 
she  has  made  steady  growth,  and  has  attained  to  a  condition 
of  unity,  peace,  concord,  and  energetic  eificiency  seldom 
exceeded  in  her  most  flourishing  days.  Seldom  have  we 
passed  a  communion  season  without  some  additions;  and  even 
during  my  recent  silence  and  absence,  a  goodly  number  of  the 
children  of  the  church  have  been  added  to  our  christian  family. 
Well  officered  by  honoured  brethren,  both  in  the  temporal  and 
spiritual  government  of  the  church ;  full  of  love  towards 
myself  and  each  other,  with  loving  hopes  and  prayers  for  my 
continuance  with  you ;  unsolicited  by  any  intimation  from  you, 
I  now,  with  many  tears  and  prayers  for  self-sacrificing  grace, 
send  you  my  resignation  of  your  call  and  of  my  pastoral  office, 
and  request  you  to  join  me  in  seeking,  in  the  lawful  order 
prescribed  by  Christ  in  His  spiritual  courts,  a  divorce  of  our 
marriage  union ;  and  to  unite  with  me  in  opening  the  way  for 
the  formation  of  such  another  holy  and  happy  union  with  your 
young  and  lovely  church,  as  may  bring  to  it  the  consecrated 
heart,  life,  and  activities  of  a  suitable  pastor. 

I  had  formed  this  conclusion  while  absent  in  Virginia,  but 
thought  it  best  to  return  and  make  an  experiment  among  you 
of  my  vocal  powers ;  and  although  in  my  efforts  in  public 
speaking  during  the  last  week,  during  the  Sabbath  communion 
services,  and  again  in  ordination  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gowan  on 
Sabbath  evening,  I  felt  more  encouraged  than  I  had  previously 
done,  yet  on  learning  at  the  Court  of  Deacons  last  evening 
that  your  arrangement  for  the  supply  of  the  pulpit  was  closed, 
and  another  would  become  necessary,  I  have  concluded  that 
this  is  the  best  and  proper  occasion  to  present  this  my  letter 
of  resignation. 

With  heartfelt  prayers  to  Christ,  our  Shepherd  and  Bishop, 
that  He  would  look  upon  your  flock  with  sympathy  and  kind- 
ness, and  guide  you  to  a  pastor  after  his  own  heart ;  and  with 
soul,  heart  and  mind,  as  ever,  ready  to  be  offered  a  living 
sacrifice  upon  the  service  of  your  faith  and  love,  were  it  the 
Lord's  will  to  grant  me  continued  ability, 

I  remain  yours  in  the  Lord, 

Thomas  Smyth. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  809 

The  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  then  unani- 
mously adopted : 

The  letter  of  our  pastor  announcing  that  his  bodily  infirmity 
will  prevent  his  further  ministrations  among  us,  and  his  desire 
consequent  thereon  to  dissolve  the  pastoral  relations,  which 
have  bound  us  together  for  so  many  years,  fills  us  with  no 
ordinary  emotions. 

Beyond  the  memory  of  the  large  majority  of  our  congrega- 
tion, he  has  borne  the  sacred  office  over  this  flock,  and  broken 
to  us  the  bread  of  life — our  parents,  our  brethren,  our  chil- 
dren under  his  ministry  have  been  received  into  the  fold  of 
Christ.  And  under  the  strong  influence  of  affection  and  of 
habit,  we  have  looked  up  to  him  as  our  spiritual  father.  The 
blessing  of  the  Spirit  of  God  has  been  richly  bestowed  upon 
his  ministry,  and  he  has  been  made  the  instrument  of  gather- 
ing many  into  the  Church  of  Christ. 

We  had  fain  hoped  that  he  would,  to  the  end,  have  con- 
tinued the  master-laborer  in  this  vineyard  of  the  Lord.  Tak- 
ing this  as  his  first  charge,  for  nearly  forty  years,  of  uninter- 
rupted ministry,  he  has  enjoyed  our  confidence,  and  has  won 
and  secured  for  himself  our  respect,  our  veneration  and  our 
love. 

But  the  hand  of  God  has  been  laid  upon  him,  and  whilst 
our  hearts  bleed  under  the  stroke,  we  recognize  the  act  of  an 
all-wise  and  beneficent  Father. 

Even  so,  however,  we  are  yet  reluctant  to  sever  the  ties 
which  have  existed  so  long  between  our  pastor  and  ourselves, 
and  have  bound  us  so  happily  together.  But  we  feel  that  our 
pastor  in  suggesting  himself,  that  they  should  be  dissevered, 
has  recognized  an  imperative  and  overwhelming  necessity. 
And,  in  all  affectionate  tenderness,  we  yield  to  his  conviction 
of  duty,  and  with  hearts  big  with  emotion,  we  accept  his  resig- 
nation, but  as  some  relief  to  the  feelings  that  oppress  us,  we 
express  the  sense  of  our  bereavement ;  be  it,  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  in  the  resignation  of  our  pastor,  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D.,  the  Second  Presbyterian  church  has 
met  with  a  heavy  bereavement  and  an  irreparable  loss. 


810  IN  MEMORIAM. 

Resolved,  That  no  influence  could  induce  us  now  to  part 
from  our  loved  and  venerated  pastor,  save  the  desire  expressed 
by  himself,  and  in  obedience  to  the  counsel  given  by  himself 
to  the  flock  whom  he  has  taught  and  loved  so  long. 

Resolved,  That  in  retiring  from  the  active  duties  of  this 
pastorate,  he  carries  with  him  that  devoted  love  and  deep 
veneration  which  we  have  borne  for  him  for  so  many  years, 
many  of  us  during  the  period  of  our  lives;  that  he  will  have 
our  constant  prayers  at  the  throne  of  grace  that  he  may  be 
restored  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  his  health,  strength  and  every 
faculty,  so  that  he  may  yet  again  return  to  his  place  over  his 
people. 

Resolved,  That  he  be  unanimously  elected  our  pastor 
emeritus,  and  that  he  be  earnestly  entreated  to  continue  and  to 
increase  his  pastoral  visits  among  our  congregation,  so  that  at 
our  homes  and  around  our  firesides  we  may  still  enjoy  the 
ministrations,  and  be  blessed  with  the  teachings  of  this  faithful 
servant  of  God. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  this  preamble  and  resolutions  be 
furnished  to  the  session  of  this  church,  with  the  request  that 
they  be  laid  before  the  Presbytery  at  its  next  session. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  the  same  be  furnished  to  the 
Southern  Presbyterian  for  publication. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  this  preamble  and  resolutions  be 
presented  to  our  pastor. 

Charles  H.  Simonton,  President. 

C.  P.  Frazer,  Secretary  pro  tern. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  session  of  the  Second  Presbyterian 
church,  held  on  the  evening  of  November  28th,  1870,  a  letter 
of  resignation  from  the  pastor.  Rev.  Dr.  Smyth,  and  the  action 
of  the  corporation  thereon,  was  brought  before  the  meeting. 
On  motion  the  following  minute  was  unanimously  adopted : 

This  session  cannot  find  words  to  express  the  deep  disap- 
pointment with  which  they  learn  that  Dr.  Smyth  has  felt  con- 
strained, by  his  continued  infirmities,  to  resign  the  charge  he 
has  so  ably  and  devotedly  filled  for  more  than  a  third  of  a 
century.     During  the   whole   period   of   his   absence,    in   the 


IN  MEMORIAM.  811 

efforts  to  recuperate  his  powers,  they  were  sustained  in  the 
separation,  by  the  thought,  that  in  answer  to  the  prayers  daily 
ascending  in  his  behalf,  from  their  family  altars  and  the  sanc- 
tuary, he  would  be  restored  to  them  with  his  wonted  health 
and  ability. 

And  now,  although  these  hopes  are  well-nigh  blasted,  they 
yet  feel  that  the  great  Head  of  the  church,  if  it  be  His  will, 
can  pronounce  the  word  "Ephphatha,"  and  enable  him,  for 
many  years  to  come,  to  proclaim  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

Until  their  pastor  is  summoned  to  his  reward,  they  will  to 
this  end  both  hope  and  pray;  and  at  the  same  time  acknowl- 
edge, with  gratitude,  the  mercy  which  spares  to  them  his  pres- 
ence, his  blessing,  his  counsel  and  his  prayers ;  be  it,  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  this  session  heartily  sympathizes  with  the 
congregation  in  the  resolutions  they  have  so  feelingly  adopted, 
and  gratefully  avail  themselves  of  the  privilege  afforded  them 
of  continuing  their  intimate  and  endearing  relations  with  their 
"pastor  emeritus^' 

Resolved,  That  Dr.  Smyth  be  requested  to  meet  with  this 
session  whenever  convened,  and,  until  some  other  pastor  is 
elected  by  the  congregation,  to  moderate  their  sessions. 

Resolved,  That  Dr.  Smyth  be  furnished  with  a  copy  of  these 
resolutions,  by  the  clerk. 

Extract  from  the  minutes  of  session. 

J.  Adger  Smyth, 
Clerk  of  Session. 
Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D. 

Dear  Brother  :  At  the  recent  session  of  the  Synod  of  South 
Carolina,  at  Anderson  C.  H.,  S.  C,  the  following  minute  was 
adopted,  viz. : 

"A  communication  from  our  venerable  brother.  Rev. 
Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D.,  with  reference  to  his  feeble  health,  was 
read;  and,  on  motion  of  Rev.  Dr.  J.  L.  Wilson,  the  stated 
clerk  was  directed  to  write  a  suitable  letter  to  Dr.  Smyth, 
expressive  of  the  tender  interest  and  sympathy  of  this  Synod 
in  the  trials  of  our  afflicted  brother." 

Previous  to  the  meeting  of  Synod,  we  had  heard,  with  pro- 
found sorrow,  of  the  feeble  health  and  sore  trials  with  which 
it  had  pleased  the  Lord  to  afflict  you;  and  now  your  letter 


812  IN  MEMORIAM. 

reminds  us  not  only  of  your  continued  afflictions,  but  also  that 
we  are  deprived  of  your  presence  and  valuable  counsels  in 
our  assembly.  But  we  rejoice  to  learn  that  there  are  evidences 
of  returning  health,  and  restoration  to  those  useful  labors  for 
which  the  Master  has  so  well  fitted  you,  and  in  the  successful 
prosecution  of  which  your  whole  ministerial  life  has  been  so 
eminently  blessed.  It  is  our  earnest  prayer  that  our  Lord  may 
long  spare  you  for  great  usefulness  in  the  church,  and  that  He 
will  continue  to  support  and  comfort  you  in  all  the  trials 
through  which  you  may  be  called  to  pass.  Venerable  and 
beloved  brother,  we  need  not  remind  you  of  the  unfailing 
source  of  strength  and  consolation  for  all  the  weak  and 
afflicted  children  of  God.  Your  own  happy  experience  testi- 
fies more  fully  than  anything  we  can  say  to  the  abounding 
grace  of  God,  the  preciousness  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  com- 
forting presence  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  From  the  pulpit  and  the 
press,  your  eloquent  words  have  often  conveyed  comfort  to 
thousands  of  the  afflicted  people  of  God,  as  you  portrayed  the 
love,  the  sympathy  and  preciousness  of  Him  who  is  almighty 
to  save,  and  who  sustains  to  all  His  suffering  people  a  relation 
infinitely  dearer  than  that  of  any  earthly  friends.  Take,  then, 
dear  brother,  that  precious  comfort  from  the  promises  of 
God,  to  which  you  have  so  often  directed  us. 

Long  will  the  Synod  remember  the  delightful  refreshment 
afforded  by  one  of  your  last  sermons  delivered  before  us  (at 
the  Brick  church  in  Sumter,  shortly  after  the  close  of  the  late 
war),  in  which  you  spoke  of  the  tender  love  of  our  Saviour, 
His  presence  and  sympathy  in  all  our  personal  trials,  and  His 
almighty  power  and  constant  care  over  His  Church. 

Nor  can  your  brethren,  especially  those  of  us  who  have  been 
long  associated  with  you  in  the  Synod  of  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia,  and  afterwards  in  the  Synod  of  South  Carolina, 
forget  the  deep  interest  you  excited  in  our  breasts,  in  behalf 
of  the  great  work  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  the  prosperity  of 
our  Theological  Seminary  at  Columbia,  an  institution  which 
Ave  trust  will  be  perpetuated  in  our  church  in  connection  with 
your  name. 

It  is,  indeed,  a  dark  Providence,  by  which  our  Synod,  within 
five  or  six  years  past,  has  lost  so  many  of  its  faithful  and 


IN  MEMORIAM.  813 

active  members.  From  the  roll  of  our  Synod,  about  one- 
fourth  of  our  number  has  been  lost  by  death  and  removal  to 
other  fields  of  labor,  while  comparatively  few  have  come  in 
to  recruit  our  ranks.  And  soon,  doubtless,  others  must  cease 
from  our  ministry  here.  How  much,  then,  dear  brother,  as  a 
Synod,  do  we  feel  the  affliction  which  deprives  us  of  the  pres- 
ence and  counsels  of  one  whom  we  venerate  and  love  so  much. 
And  if  we  should  not  be  permitted  to  enjoy  your  presence, 
and  be  guided  by  your  wisdom  and  experience  in  our  annual 
Synodical  meetings  on  earth,  we  trust  that,  by  Divine  grace, 
in  due  time,  we  shall  meet  you  in  "the  General  Assembly  and 
the  Church  of  the  first  born  written  in  heaven." 

Yours  in  the  bonds  of  tender  sympathy  and  christian  affec- 
tion. 

By  order  of  Synod.  Wm.  Banks, 

Stated  Clerk. 

Anderson,  S.  C,  November  18,  1870. 


XV.— See  Vol.  Ill,  p.  319,  Smyth's  Works:  "Calvin  and 
His  Enemies — A  Memoir  of  the  Life,  Character  and  Prin- 
ciples of  Calvin."     (New  edition,  revised  and  enlarged.) 


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